The Story that Never Was
by Ayako Nazuki
Summary: Chapter 93 Poor GBoys have to deal with a girl from our world. Oh the HORRORS! OHOHOHO Kindly R&R v Me first postin' Be nice
1. rEaLITy cHAngEs

Disclaimer: The G-boys aren't mine, just borrowing them, yada yada yada...Original characters belongs to me, myself & I.  
  
AN: The G-boys don't make their appearance in this chapter yet. Patience is a virtue...  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Moving across the room, Jess sank down onto a couch. "How did things turn out like THIS???" she wailed, breathing hard as she sat down.  
  
Jess is a simple Chinese-looking 17-year-old girl. Height around 1.6 meters, with long shoulder length hair usually tied in a ponytail. In other words, a plain-looking, ordinary girl. The kind of girl that ONLY normal things happen to.  
  
'This hardly qualifies as normal or ordinary, that's for certain,' Jess thought, taking in the scenery of her room cum prison. 'And why am I here? Let me see. It all had to start with that DAMN school trip.'  
  
The school trip had turned out to be a disaster, not to mention a nightmare that led on to another without her ever seemingly to wake up from. She had joined the school's trip group going for Japan to relax and enjoy the change of atmosphere after a stressed and tiring month of intensive studying and exams. She hadn't counted on the appearance of Johnson and his group mates tagging along. The group of 'gorillas' had to brilliantly come along and ruin the rest of her vacation with their non- stop teasing and bullying.  
  
After enduring their teasing and bullying for one year, making her life as MISERABLE as possible, adding a few days more with them was a torture camp. She had tried to ignore them at the start of the journey but the stupid bunch of 'monkeys' just didn't seem to get the idea. Her luggage was 'accidentally' lost at the airport, holding her back from joining the rest for a sight-seeing tour of Tokyo's airport compound (which they later found it on a basis of luck, in a deserted corner of the far end lost luggage- collection compartment, buried under a pile of old suitcases). Not only that, she kept losing things and finding them in the most embarrassing places.  
  
'Places I would rather not think about, thank you!' Jess thought, sighing and burying her face in her hands.  
  
If it wasn't bad enough, the BABOONS actually had girl admirers. 'Talk about bad taste if you ask me.' Thus coming to the situation that Jess had to contend with fire from BOTH sides of the gender. Whether it was the guys' or girls' fault that such torture came about, both sides were guilty parties. The males having fun making a fool out of her, and the females spitting like she-cats from the sidelines.  
  
'So what if Johnson and gang are a tiny, weenie bit popular?' Jess thought sulkily, 'Don't I count as a human being too? Besides, it's the teachers' fault as well.'  
  
Jess's year in Katman College would have been fine and out of the spotlight if the teachers didn't have a habit of pairing her up with Johnson in the same group so frequently. Once or twice was ok. BUT this going on the whole year seemed too much of a coincidence. Thus the teasing started. However, along the way, things began to get a little out of hand.  
  
What was worst, in the whole entire situation, was when asked on his feelings towards her, he kept quiet. Thus, fuelling gossip, female rivalry and backstabbing towards her direction from interested females.  
  
'Stupid guy has no ounce of sense! If only he had rejected it.'  
  
The female betrayal, backstabbing, the lies. you name it, she went through it. And now this.  
  
'When is my life going to STOP being such mayhem?' Jess thought, tucking her face into the hollow that her arm made, propped up on both knees as she hugged them close to her body.  
  
Part of the trip consisted of visiting the comic buildings where artists drew original prints of the comic books to be sent for printing. She was excited, as she would be able to see how comics were drawn, inked and printed. Not to mention the possibility of meeting the creators behind Ranma ½, Inuyasha, Gundam Wing, Angel Sanctuary, Sabre Marionette, etc. Only this excitement was dampened by the presence of Johnson and his gang early in the morning. They started ruining her day with name calling, pulling her hair when her back was turned and generally making a fool out of her in front of the rest of the group.  
  
'Where is my shining knight in armour when I need him??' Jess thought grumpily. 'Obviously hiding.'  
  
A coach was arranged to take them to a high-rise building made of glass and concrete. Inside, the interior was beautifully decorated with marble and crystal, giving the air of importance and formality. Walking through the door, even Johnson and gang were silenced by the impression of the chic and classy outlook the building gave. But that was only a while.  
  
The floor was tilted with marble of the lightest brown with black streaks running from one end to the other, coming together to form a pattern in the middle. Posters of Amine posters placed in glass casing, adorn the sides of the walls, forming a beeline towards the elevators situated at the other end of the hall. A crystal fountain occupied a corner of the entrance while to the other side, small crystal statuettes lined the bottom end, only to build up to a pretty lady sitting among flowers, looking at ease with the world and the situation around her. (1)  
  
In the middle of the hall, throwing a soft light around, a crystal chandelier hanged suspended from the ceiling, giving the finishing touch of elegance, chic and class to the hall. Where facets of light bounced off the crystal onto floor, it made the pattern imbedded in the floor, seem to come alive and dance before their very eyes as the light gently moved from the tiny gust of wind created by the air-conditioning in the room.  
  
Upon entering the hall, Jess longed to move closer to the walls to take a good look at the posters hanging there. However, the guide was already leading the group towards the elevators, his voice drowned out by the sudden burst of chatter from the excited students as they made their way through the hall. Jess cast one longing look at the posters hanging there and hurried after the group towards the elevators.  
  
There were three elevators waiting at the end of the hall, each equipped with their own bellboy to take the students up to the required floor. Jess tried to rush into one of the elevators, as Johnson and his gorillas didn't seem too keen on getting squashed. Unfortunately, the elevators were filled with people not on Jess side, especially with the bunch of silly admirers, pushing Jess out in the hope that the space made would induce one of the boys to join them.  
  
However they ignored them; Greg and Nick chatting away, Aaron and Josh turning their attention to the posters at the side while Johnson pretended to admire the ceiling. Before Jess could make another attempt at dashing into elevator in front of her, all 3 elevators' doors closed, with the stupid guide promising to send down an elevator for them while waiting with the others on the above floors. Jess could distinctively hear the moans of the disappointment from the 'clinging ivy' in the lifts going up, and started to dread the onslaught of glares and spitfire she would get once she reached her destination.  
  
Back then; it looked like a situation out of the comic book. Right now, it was really happening to her. She was left alone with Johnson again, this time gang included with no charge.  
  
Whatever noise Nick and Greg were making had stopped, indicating trouble wasn't too far behind. Jess slowly turned her head, her eye twitching with unease. Five pairs of eyes were now glaring intensely at her, Johnson looking her the most intensely. Jess could feeling the hair on her arms rise. The silence that fell between them was so thick that Jess was certain she could hear the gentle gurgle of water coming from the fountain at the far end of the hall.  
  
Nick opened his mouth first. He was the bigmouth of the group. "How can a toad like you always end up in the same group as us? Aren't you tired of chasing Johnson? Girls these days really have no pride!" Jess eyes widened then narrowed with anger.  
  
'How dare they!' she thought, feeling her anger raged through her head. 'Just because they have wealth, status and looks doesn't mean they can accuse me of. of.OF such untrue things! I do NOT act like those girls!'  
  
Jess opened her mouth to defend herself, however, she was cut-short by Nick's continuation of his sharp remarks. Only this time, his remarks took a different twist, addressed to Johnson instead of her. "She's easy! Pretending to be different from those girls but we all know she's really a SLUT like them!"  
  
Jess felt her argument catch in her throat. She was really weak against attacks made to decide another's person idea of her personality. Johnson took one look at her and looked away, keeping silent to Nick's comments, while a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.  
  
Jess felt a new surge of anger; she saw red. Before she could stop herself, she heard herself shouting: "I AM NOT! NOT! NOT! NOT! YOU GORILLAS KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME OR MY PREFERENCES, SO YOU CAN'T JUDGE ME!" Silence reigned again as Jess finished shouting those words. No one said a thing.  
  
' Oh great Jess! Like that'll help! I'm sure they can read you brain and become a group of Mr Sensitives' she thought, spinning on her heel to face the lifts again. She could feel her eyes pickle with unfallen tears while she clutched her hands, as the first strains of thunderous laughter came drifting from behind her back. Aaron and Josh had started singing childishly: "Jess is such a child, Jess is such a child.."  
  
Luckily, her tears were saved from falling as the elevator in front of her gave a small 'ting!' before the door slid open to reveal the empty interior. This sudden change startled her and she entered the elevator with growing excitement.  
  
Johnson and his gang trudge in after her like a herd of elephants to her irritation.  
  
The bellboy smiled pleasantly at her before introducing himself. "Hi! I'm Zarth! Your tour guide instructed me to take you all to the highest floor," he said, smiling at her.  
  
Jess smiled back at him in gratitude and greeting before the hairs on her back began to pickle again. Turning around, she caught Johnson giving her a frown from his end of the elevator. However, in a spilt second, he was able to erase it and feign indifference. At times like this, Jess desperately wished she had a camera with her, since she seemed to be the only one catching him in such acts. She really hated these kinds of moments; it made her feel like she had just imagined it.  
  
Strangely, the elevator journey proceeded smoothly without any interruptions from the 'gorillas' standing behind her. However, it was still as nerve-wreaking as ever, not knowing whether or when they were up to something. Jess breathed a sigh of relief when the doors of the elevators finally opened. Stepping out of the elevator revealed a huge room with windows lining a whole wall and sunlight pouring in, illuminating the room for the people working on stacks of paper, some of which are piled high on their desks, while a bustle of activity filled the room, shifting from one end to the other, and then back again.  
  
A few steps ahead of the elevator stood the group, with most girls showing black faces directed at Jess's direction as they stepped out. Jess ignored those faces; she had learnt that things ignored were sometimes the best solution. It also meant less stress and worries for her.  
  
Johnson and gang moved ahead to join the group while Jess loitered at the back. Time and time again had proven female rivalry to be quite painful and vicious. Plus, she didn't need any trodden feet on her vacation  
  
The guide gave them a small tour around the room, explaining and introducing different artists drawing for different authors of comic books. Jess paid attention to every little word the guide translated but Johnson and gang basically yawned, monkeyed around and generally made fools out of themselves. In the midst of the talking and interruptions, Jess noticed a poster on the wall of Gundam Wing, to the side of her. The poster was surrounded by soft blue light penetrating from the circumference around it, softly, as if beckoning Jess to come take a closer look.  
  
'Back then, I thought it was some neon blue light someone put behind it. Now I can finally understand the phase: Curiosity killed the cat.'  
  
As Jess started to take a step towards the picture for a closer inspection, Johnson received a shove from Greg, causing him to stumble into her path. At the same time, Nick had already snuck up behind her and gave her a shove, causing her to go stumbling headlong into Johnson. She didn't know who was more shocked, she or Johnson. However, one thing kept occurring in her mind. 'Move away from him.'  
  
Jess summoned all her strength upon contact and pushed away from him, sending Johnson stumbling backwards into Greg, while losing her own balance, causing herself to go stumbling backwards towards the picture.  
  
The last thing she saw was Johnson shocked face; Greg opening his mouth and Nick looking like he was going to burst into laughter. The next thing she knew was blue light bursting forth from behind her, momentary blinding her for a few seconds and when she regained her sight, she was looking at a metal wall.  
  
Authoress' Proclamation:  
  
(1) The idea of the comic building is purely my fantasy if you haven't already figured THAT out! 


	2. WHO THE HECK WAS THAT?

AN: About the chapter before and those to come, ('') shows the person's thoughts.  
  
(In case you missed that in the first chapter)  
  
Oh yeah! This chapter is dedicated you Anu and Magica Wisekill.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Not that Jess minded where she was but the oddity of facing something metal instead of the gorilla gang evoked strange feelings in her. On one hand, she was kinda glad she wasn't seeing them. But on the other hand … panic was beginning to build up at the absurdity of the change in scenery.  
  
Not that there was much to look at anyway.  
  
Jess stretched out her hand and found… she was actually touching solid steel. Slowly, she turned her head from side to side, analysing her situation.  
  
On the right side of her, the wall stretched into a metal passage and curved around a corner to God knows where. The wall she was facing, ended a short distance away, only to be replaced by glass windows, panelling the wall up to where the passage disappeared round the corner. If it weren't bad enough, the windows showed stars against a pitch-black sky, making the sky look infinite and imposing. The hall itself was lit with lights coming from the ceiling instead of through the windows, which she had supposedly seen earlier.  
  
To the left of her, the metal hall stretched through countless metal arches, disappearing into the distance, giving the impression of being endless and uninviting. Jess looked at both sides again, analysing her situation… and decided to move to her right. Somehow, the endless hallway seemed scarier to her than the unknown passage, not to mention, the consolation of having the stars company her as she made her way through it.  
  
Upon rounding the bend in the hall/passage, she came upon a door to the right side of her. She would have totally missed it, if it weren't for the gold panelling allocated at the top of the metal door. The metal door itself was cut into the wall itself, fitting in perfectly like part of the design on the metal wall. The words on the panel, however, were written in Japanese. Jess gave a sigh. She had never studied Japanese and therefore, depended heavily on people to translate for her, which unfortunately there wasn't one around. Meaning right now, she didn't understand a single word on that panel.  
  
'Ah! Blast it!' she thought. 'Just my day. First Gorilla gang torture, then getting lost and now, LANGUAGE TEST! What NEXT???'  
  
Judging from the words on the panel, Jess was almost certain the person on the other side of the door probably didn't understand English either. After all, this presumption wasn't a bad guess, what with most Japanese finding it difficult to pick up the English language as she did with theirs.  
  
'Can't blame them there. I'm in the same boat as them,' she admitted to herself.  
  
Hesitantly, she raised her hand and gave a knock on the door, listening to her knocks vibrating down the hall. She heaved a sigh of relief a second later when she heard the person inside shouted, "Enter!" and watched as the door in front of her swing silently open.  
  
'Perhaps the person does understand English after all,' she thought, feeling hope blossom in her chest as soon as she heard the English word being said.  
  
On entering the room, she was astounded by the books lining the walls of the room. A boy in white singlet and long white pants sat on a bed in the middle of the room, his face covered by the book he was reading. He was apparently so absorbed in reading that he didn't look up when Jess entered.  
  
"What is it?" he asked, voice clear-cut and indicative of a no-nonsense tone. The question was short and cutting, even hinting a slight irritation at this interruption. Jess blushed. Never had she felt so unwelcome before.  
  
She cleared her throat and spoke: "I am looking for…"  
  
Jess was cut short by the boy's interruption: "Information, Level 3, Section A6, take the elevator down."  
  
Jess was flustered by the boy's attitude.  
  
'Couldn't he wait till I finished my question?' she wondered angrily.  
  
"Well, ummm, where's the elevator?" she asked nicely though no part of her felt charitable.  
  
"Down the hall, turn right," he said crisply, without even bothering to look up from the book he was reading.  
  
Jess had enough of the boy's attitude. 'Who needs him?' she thought as she slammed the door closed and continued down the hall in the direction she had taken before her stop.  
  
  
  
Wufei looked up from his book when the door slammed shut, his face registering his surprise.  
  
'What a rude girl,' he thought, before returning to his book. The clock under his bed moved a second, then two before Wufei slammed his book down while jumping out of bed in a hurry. There was no girl on this ship except a grown woman who acted as both doctor and co-pilot.  
  
'So just whom was I talking with??! Kami-sama! I'm getting careless!' he thought as he rushed to the door, slamming it closed behind him and turned left, taking the opposite direction that Jess had taken to continue her wanderings.  
  
  
  
Jess moved down the hall and passed 3 more rooms on her right. She didn't bother to knock on any of them after her encounter with the rude boy.  
  
'Only god knows what kind of loonies are housed down here. Besides, once bitten, twice shy, if you ask me,' she thought as she passed the fourth door.  
  
However, fate seemed to think otherwise. Her stomach soon started growling and Jess was hungry. Not only that, she was nearing a door less room where delicious food smells were permeating from the doorway. Looking in, she saw a girl with marvellous long chestnut hair tied in a braid that reached up to her butt, and she wore a navy blue uniform. Her back was turned towards a table laden with a whole variety of delicious looking food and she was obviously cooking some more dishes on the stove. Jess stomach growled and she could feel her mouth water as she looked at the food on the table.  
  
The girl must have overheard the growl from her stomach for she gave out a boyish laugh, and without turning around, asked her to start eating first. Jess kept silent and did not move from the door. The girl shrugged her shoulders and started talking about how much effort she had put into the preparation of the food and what an insult it would be if nobody seem to want to eat the food.  
  
With those assurances, Jess went in and started attacking the food, choosing the seat directly behind the girl where a set of plates were set up for the diner's use. The girl, now sounding a bit like a boy, went on talking about all sorts of stuff, funny things that happened to her in the past. Sometimes requiring Jess to give a grunt for answers, but that seemed enough to satisfy the girl. The remainder of the meal continued in this light-hearted tone.  
  
As Jess got up to leave after a very fulfilling meal, she contemplated about leaving behind money for the dishes she ate. As she was unsure of how much cash one paid for a single meal, considering she ate a bit of everything, she figured 1000 yen should suffice. She walked out feeling guilty for two reasons.  
  
One was the worry she did not pay enough.  
  
The other was she left the girl back in the room, still talking to herself, unknowing that she had already left.  
  
  
  
Duo happy finished his last dishes of Sushi, barbecue meat and miso soup. He turned to where Heero was supposedly sitting only to find the seat empty and a bill of 1000 yen placed under a used plate.  
  
'Is this how you view me?' he thought angrily, picking up the note and crushing it in his hands.  
  
Just then, Heero, Quatre and Trowa entered the room.  
  
"Hey, that looks good!" the blond Arab complimented as he took his seat beside Trowa. Heero looked at the mess at his place and raised an eyebrow in question to the fuming Duo.  
  
"Clean your dirty plates yourself!" was all Duo could say to Heero between clenched teeth.  
  
Heero whipped out his gun and held it at Duo's forehead.  
  
"What did you say?" he asked quietly.  
  
Quatre sensing approaching danger, tried to quieten the situation.  
  
"No need to get so worked up. I'll clean the dishes," he said as he got up to clear them. Trowa started to join him in the activity too.  
  
"NO! Heero ate his lunch already, he'll clean up his own dishes!" Duo shouted, persisting despite being held at a fatal gunpoint end.  
  
Quatre eyes widen. "How can that be? Heero was with Trowa and me the whole time in my room up to now. He was playing on my computer while Trowa and me were playing cards. Surely you must be mistaken."  
  
"But…" Duo felt uncertainty start to peck at his mind. He looked to Trowa for confirmation. Trowa gave him one of his serious nods.  
  
"But who…" Duo began but was saved from further confusion when Wufei burst into the room and skidded to a halt in front of them.  
  
"Intruder on the threshold," he said, "and it's a girl."  
  
"How you know that?" Heero asked, lowering his gun.  
  
"I talked to her," Wufei threw over his shoulder before disappearing out the door again. Trowa whistled.  
  
"Either he's reading one too many books and hallucinating, or his hormones are kicking in," Trowa commented on the girl hater.  
  
After that comment, all four pair of eyes fixed on the dirty plates at Heero's place. Then all of them ran after Wufei down the hall to the control room. 


	3. Lights! Chase! AAAHHHHHHHHH!

AN: Hey there people! Starting from now, I'll be testing my skills at original story writing, also at fanfiction.net. So go check it out already! ^^v The story is called "Cursed" and hopefully all readers will enjoy the plot, especially the romantic ones. Reassured I will put in some humour, however, it takes on a more serious tone throughout the plot.  
  
  
  
This chapter is dedicated to Maxwell dark, Angel and Kuria! Thanks for your wonderful reviews. :]  
  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
  
  
Jess wandered along the passage till she came to a dead end. To her right was an elevator with its door wide open. Cautiously, Jess stepped into it, surveying the interior and was quite surprised to find it rather large. The space could at least fit 20 people inside without making anyone feel cramp. However, being the ONLY person in the large elevator, Jess felt… small.  
  
'This is unpleasant. Everything looks so spacious and… big. This must be how an insect feels like. Ughh!' she thought, taking in the largeness, or rather emptiness of the elevator.  
  
'Besides, why install such a large elevator in a comic building?' she wondered, a small nagging feeling tugging at the back of her mind. 'Must be a male and his egotistical self, I guess,' she reasoned, pushing that nagging feeling away.  
  
Then Jess gave herself a mental shake. Right now, she had more important things to do than stay all day staring at a large elevator, which would be dumb, of course.  
  
Jess looked at the buttons located at the side of her.  
  
"Now what was it he said information was at?" she murmured to herself. Unable to recall which floor information was on, she pushed the button that indicated 6.  
  
'No harm in trying,' she thought.  
  
  
  
Heero, Wufei, Quatre, Trowa and Duo were waiting for the lift to come.  
  
"Damn it! Why is it taking so long?" Wufei cursed under his breath.  
  
Heero just grunted and leaned against the wall. Quatre started getting the 'worries and shakies' and that took all of Trowa's attention to try and calm him down. Meanwhile, Duo, feeling bored, started talking both Heero and Wufei's ears off like a machine gun. This irritated Wufei so much, by the end of Duo's 20th sentence, he had turned around to give Duo an ear- blasting lecture on the seriousness of the situation.  
  
  
  
The door of the lift slid silently open and Jess saw the boy from her earlier meeting, except this time his back was turned to her. There were two others before him, but he was blocking her view of them.  
  
"Cuse me," she called out, "What level did you say information was at?"  
  
"Level 3, A6," the boy answered curtly, without turning around.  
  
"Thanks!" Jess called out as she pressed the button labelled 3 and the door slid closed.  
  
  
  
Wufei was just about to start his lecture when was he interrupted by the same question from behind. He bit out the answer and was just about to proceed to his lecture again when something clicked in his head. Heero, by now, had an amused look on his face while Duo was trying to look around him.  
  
"Holy SHIT!" Wufei said as all five of them started for the lift door. However, the lift door slid close before any of them could reach it, and pressing the button was of no use.  
  
"Sound the alert!" Heero said. "Duo! Go to the control room to alert about the girl's destination while the rest of us head for level 3."  
  
Then, Heero took out his gun as he ran for the stairs. Wufei followed close behind, cursing, while Quatre and Trowa ran alongside with him.  
  
  
  
Jess stepped out of the lift and looked both left and right.  
  
'Which way to A6?' she wondered, as both passages stretched out endlessly on either side of her, through metal arches. No door seemed to be in sight for that matter too.  
  
"Oh well, right seems to be a good choice," she murmured to herself, turning to her right.  
  
  
  
As soon as all of the boys had run down the stairs to level 3, they skidded to a halt after entering through the escape door. Heero took charge, as usual.  
  
" Wufei and Trowa go right, I and Quatre will go left," he commanded. He received questionable looks from his co-gundam pilots. Heero sighed inwardly. He hated explaining his reasons.  
  
"Look! We don't know whether she knows the way to A6. Chances are she may be wandering around in the wrong direction. We have enough evidence as it is, what with her not going directly to the information room," Heero directed the last sentence at Wufei, who looked away angrily. "Besides, we have to capture her alive, Zechs and OZ may be up to something and she'll have useful information." Heero stopped, feeling a bit winded. He had NEVER explained so much in his entire existence before.  
  
The other three co-pilots nodded their understanding and spilt up to their respective missions.  
  
  
  
Jess had just gone 3 steps through the second metal arch when the lights suddenly turned red and started flashing with a horrible siren sound.  
  
'Just exactly like those cartoons where security is breached or in emergency situations,' she thought, continuing her walking as she had paused when the lights had turned red.  
  
'But of course, those things can't happen here, for goodness sake! Must be some crazy comic sale, or…a FIRE!!!' she concluded, and hastily changed her objections to finding a fire escape exit as fast as she can.  
  
Pounding feet coming from behind halted Jess's frantic search for the fire escape. Turning around, this time she saw the boy… and his face.  
  
'My goodness… he's a dead ringer for Wufei of the Gundam Wing series,' she thought, her eyes taking in the ever-so-alike 'Wufei's pissed look' up to the small little ponytail at the back of his head.  
  
Looking at his partner, Jess felt her head started to reel with shock. The tall boy with long brown hair, one side of his eye was covered with it, and the serious look he had, made him another dead-ringer for Trowa of the Gundam Wing series.  
  
'What's this??? Comics come to life?' she thought, feeling a little uneasiness appear. 'That can't be, can it? Of course not. Get a GRIP on yourself girl! Must be some gimmick in advertising their comics, that what it is!' she concluded, after thinking hard for a moment or two. 'Well! They aren't getting any cash out of me, what with mom making quite a ruckus over it already. Once is enough, thank you!'  
  
Both boys were panting rather heavily when they had first caught up with her, as if they had just run a marathon. But they seemed to have caught their breaths back as the boy in white sank into a defending crouch, while the other put his hand under his vest, fiddling with something underneath it.  
  
'Ohhh… He's GOOD. Acts exactly like Wufei with that crouching position and angry expression!' Jess thought to herself.  
  
By then, the taller boy had taken something black and shiny from underneath his vest. Jess started towards him, hoping she could get some directions from him to the nearest fire evacuation exit. She paused in her tracks when the taller boy said: "Don't move an inch. Not if you value your life."  
  
He raised his hand and Jess felt her eyes widen. He had a gun pointed at her.  
  
The taller boy continued speaking. "Now move slowly backwards into the wall with your hands above your head where I can see them."  
  
Jess did exactly as he said, but as soon as she leaned against the wall, it gave of a soft 'ping' and the wall slid open. Jess twisted around and hit the ground running. Behind her, the sound of gunshots were made and a boy's cursing could be clearly heard, following her as she made her way down this new secret passage way.  
  
  
  
"I guess she's not here," Quatre remarked as he and the operational staff gathered at A6. Heero nodded but before he could say anything, Quatre's beeper started vibrating and flashing its little blue light. Switching it on, Trowa's voice could be clearly heard with Wufei's cursing colouring the background. Both boys' mouths twisted into a faint resemblance of a smile.  
  
"Hey guys, she's at B6 right now. If she heads any further, she'll be in the Gundams' hanger soon. We need assistance quickly to head her off," came Trowa's calm and factual voice on the beeper. This message was rounded off by two shots, followed briefly by a girl's frantic cry.  
  
"Did you hit her?" Quatre asked anxiously. His mind began to think of all the medical help the girl was going to need if she ever got hit, not to mention mental.  
  
"No!" came the reply from a really irritated Wufei. "That girl got the devil's own luck! She's still running around unhurt!"  
  
"That's a really blood-thirsty side you got there, Wufei," Quatre commented before switching off his beeper.  
  
Then looking at Heero, they both started for B13 to head off the girl.  
  
  
  
Jess had run into a walkway where railings restricted and bounded her flight. The two mad boys were still chasing her. Normally she wouldn't mind it, if it weren't for the fact that one wielded a gun, while the other looked like he wanted to wring her neck.  
  
'I wonder if that gun's real?' she thought as she hit the dead end of the walkway. No escape to either side of her, except a long drop to the ground below, which she knew she wouldn't and would not want to survive. The only other escape was going back where she came from, but the two crazy boys were there, making that escape impossible for her.  
  
However, all thoughts of escape fled from her head as she took a good look at the scene below.  
  
5 HUGE robots, about 12 storeys high stood line up against a wall, AND they all looked like robots from GUNDAM WING. Jess couldn't help but grasp at the sight before her.  
  
By now, the two mad boys had caught up with her, coming to a halt not too far away and the stupid boy was still pointing the gun at her. Jess was beginning to feel a little… hard-pressed. Looking at the gun, Jess suddenly got an idea into her head.  
  
Throwing one leg over the railing, she threatened: "If you don't put that gun away, I'll jump and kill myself!"  
  
  
  
Wufei rolled his eyes in irritation while Trowa gave a sigh. Hasn't that been what they've been trying to do?  
  
Maybe not kill but they have been definitely trying to hit her with their shootings. But for her to kill herself, Heero would be bitterly disappointed if that happened.  
  
"Fine," Trowa compromise, "only if you agree to follow us quietly."  
  
The girl nodded and Trowa started to put his gun under his vest.  
  
"No!" the girl shouted. "Throw it down there!"  
  
Trowa's eyes widen and then narrowed to slits.  
  
'Who does this girl think she is?' he thought, feeling irritation grow at the thought of throwing his gun down a 12-storey drop.  
  
"I don't trust your word alone," the girl said simply, seeming to understand the fuming look he gave her. But the girl's eyes also seemed to be begging for his understanding too.  
  
'Guess I feel the same way being surrounded by enemies holding guns at me…'  
  
And started to hate himself for the next action he was going to do.  
  
With a grunt, Trowa flung his gun over the railings.  
  
"There! Happy?" he grunted.  
  
  
  
Jess nodded but as she started to bring her leg over the railing to the other side, her stupid big toe caught onto the railing, causing her to lose balance. With a silent cry, she fell backwards, head log into a 12-storey high of empty space towards a definite death below.  
  
  
  
Author's Proclamation: No one is allowed to blame me for this late update. ^^x  
  
Due to circumstances outside my control (read fanfic.net problems), I was unable to upload this last chapter.  
  
Yeah man! 


	4. Where am I?

This chapter goes out to the one & only *drumrolls* KURIA! Discriminately throws confetti around. Thanks dear, I be sure to read your chapter when its done. ^_~  
  
Also, this chapter is dedicated to my new reviewer: Misori-Chan! I'm glad you joined the family. Special thanks to all of you who have reviewed my chapters; This next segment is specially done for you all! :]  
  
AN: Hi people, long time no write. Me just clowning around with Nanako, ie; torturing her.  
  
Nanako: Someone! Help me!  
  
AN: Anyway, hope you will enjoy this chapter that I have come up with. *Background singing is heard* Oh by the way, Nanako sings like a drowning cow.  
  
Nanako: Shut up! Not as bad as you, dying pig. *throws the nearest projectile*  
  
AN: Ack! X__x  
  
Nanako: Opps, oh well, on with the fic  
  
------------- THIS SESSION HAS BEEN PREMATURELY TERMINATED ------------ ---  
  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Jess awoke to glaring lights shining into her face, making her eyes water as well as painful to open. Squinting against the glare through sleep- lidded eyes, she could dimly make out a few human-like shapes standing around her. "She's awake," she heard a female voice whisper from behind her as she lay on the bed.  
  
Bathed by the light, everything seemed to be white around her and only shadows in her vision represented figures of the people standing, surrounding her.  
  
"Am I in heaven?" she croaked, her throat feeling pitch and dry. Her limbs felt heavy and useless at the moment. She heard a cough and tried to turn her head to look for the source of the sound. However, her head felt heavy and lethargic, and the thought was immediately discarded. Then a male or boyish voice answered: "No. You're not dead." There was a hint of laughter behind that tone.  
  
"Who are you?" A question from a shadow in front of her. The shadow moved forward, bring into her line of vision a boy with messy brown hair, wearing cotton green singlet and black shorts. He was looking at her in a rather condescending way. 'Somehow, he looks familiar. But I can't put my finger on it.' Jess thought. However, thinking right now for Jess was not an option. Somehow, the answer seemed too elusive to capture.  
  
"I'm Jess." she answered groggily. The surroundings felt surreal, as if she was in a dream, where everything seemed to be insubstantial or dream-like. "Who are you? Are you my angel?" she asked the boy.  
  
The boy just grunted in reply and she heard laughter erupting from both sides of her, and a whisper: "Yeah. The angel of Death." The boy glared in the direction of the speaker before fixing her with a deep-filled hatred look.  
  
"Who sent you?" he asked in a quiet but serious tone. "I don't know," Jess replied, feeling a wave of drowsiness start to creep up on her. "Liar," came a comment from the left side of her. "I'll ask again, who sent you?" This time, there was anger evident in boy's voice. "I really don't know," Jess answered, this time uncaringly. Her head felt heavy and sleep seemed to be returning, making the shadows around her seem to stretch and blend with the light.  
  
Rough hands suddenly seized her around her shoulders, squishing her bones and flesh painfully. The sudden pain was enough to jerk her eyes wide open and chase away any thoughts of sinking back into sleep blissfully. And this time, the lights didn't seem so glaring any more, the shadows themselves were given features and Jess realized with growing horror that 5 guys were surrounding her bed while she, was tied to it!  
  
Her hands and legs were tied to the side posts of the bed for obviously a long time and were asleep in their bounds. Thus, accounting for the heaviness she felt earlier, and the numbness was now seeping through to the rest of her limbs.  
  
Turning her eyes to her torturer, she could see it was the Wufei look- alike guy. "Answer the boy!" he shouted through gritted teeth, which Jess would have found it quite an amazing accomplishment if it wasn't for the pain he was inflicting on her shoulders.  
  
Jess felt her anger rise.  
  
This guy had been rude to her, not to mention tried to kill her and now, no respect for someone probably going to die from a serious head injury???  
  
Gritting her teeth in a similar fashion, Jess let the guy have it. Hell, she was sooo frustrated that she yelled her two cents worth of what she thought of the boy on his SH***Y ATROCIOUS MANNERISMS, his BLOODTHIRSTY attitude of wanting to KILL and his DISRESPECT for the DYING. By the time she was done, the boy's mouth was hanging open and his hands dangling uselessly to his sides. Satisfied with the result and ridding the anger in her chest, Jess lay back to continue her idea of 'passing away peacefully.'  
  
The female behind her gave a chuckle and some of the guys coughed, sounding suspiciously like trying to contain their laughter. Even the boy in the green cotton singlet had a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He then moved up beside the Wufei look-like guy and said: "You're not dying. Gravitational device was off."  
  
Jess felt pissed. "Don't be ridiculous! There's no way of combating gravity on Earth and I saw myself falling at least 12 storeys from the ground. How can one not die from a fall like that?"  
  
"Yeah," came the quiet answer, "but you're in space."  
  
Jess REALLY felt like dying then.  
  
Author's Proclamation: Whoa! This chapter may be short but hey, the next will (Ayako) definitely be longer.  
  
Please check out my story 'Cursed'. I really need to know if my writing techniques are ok. Free cyber Pocky for anyone who does!  
  
Ayako: o*______*o  
  
Nanako: -_-; she's not my sister, she's not my sister, she's not. 


	5. Why me?

Hey there people! I only went camping for three days and suddenly the reviews just poured in! So I like to welcome some new faces especially:  
  
  
  
  
  
Sailor Aurora Helios, Cloud, Dream Maker and Joanna!  
  
Of course there are the regulars, I'm really glad to see you guys are still around!  
  
Angel, Misori-chan, Magicia Wisekill and Kuria!  
  
This chapter goes out to all you WUNERFUL people. *blubbers*  
  
I'm just dying to give you all chapter dedications. So Kuria, no strings attached. You don't have to write a dedication to me in return (not that I mind if you do! ^^;), just make sure to review so I know you're still with me. Same goes to all of you! :]  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
"How do I get into these kinds of situation?" Jess moaned.  
  
Jess looked up from her hands at the sound of metal scraping against metal, signalling the unbolting of the metal door that kept her locked up in the little dark room, which she now dubbed as her temporary home.  
  
Not that she hadn't tried to escape from there per se, but all that had been...well, unsuccessful.  
  
First had been the grand escape of crawling through the air ventilation passage. However as luck would have it, the passage she took led to the boys' locker room. As if that wasn't bad enough, she had to fall through the floor of the passage, where a small portion had rusted through, right into the midst of the boys changing and getting ready for a bath after a tiring battle with OZ.  
  
When she landed on the floor of the room, there was a second of frozen silence. This gave Jess enough time to get an eyeful of the room... and the boys. Heero was in the act of pulling off his shirt in front of his locker, Quatre was in the middle of untying his shoelaces, while Trowa had his arms full with soap, shampoo, towel and of all things, a RUBBER DUCKIE! Duo was already in his underwear and heading for the bathroom, and Wufei was pulling off his shorts.  
  
"HOLY SHIT!" yelled Duo, when realization finally hit them that there was a girl where there shouldn't be one. His exclamation sent all of them scrambling into action.  
  
Duo all but skidded behind a wall while Wufei pulled up his shorts too fast and too high, which made his eyes cross and voice squeak. Meanwhile, Quatre got out of his seat so fast, he tripped over his shoelaces and ended up face flat on the floor. Heero and Trowa reached for their guns to apprehend the intruder. In immediate reaction to the chaos that reigned before her, Jess slapped her hands over her eyes, screaming: "OH MY EYES!!!"  
  
Should someone had told her 3 weeks ago that she would be transported into a comic world and meet with the Gundam pilots, she would have laughed in the person's face and advised him to get "professional help" before walking away. Now, walking with male guards flanking all around her, she wondered if she was the one who seriously needed "professional help".  
  
Since then, they had nailed shut all 15 of the room's ventilation grills, courtesy of all 5 boys (she had been there when they were at it). And the sheer amount of nails they drove in was enough to ensure the grills would POSITIVELY remain where they were till doomsday. She had better luck breaking through the steel doors, then trying to escape from there again!  
  
'I ought to know,' she miserably surveyed her blistered hands. 'I certainly tried hard enough...'  
  
However, it wasn't 'Escape Plan no.1' that made them step up security. It was 'Escape Plan no.2' that did it.  
  
Jess had noticed that security at her door was rather lax. Just ONE MALE guard placed at her door to guard her at all times. SOOO... when the opportunity presented itself, without hesitation she kicked the guard in the groin and ran like the hounds of hell were after her, down the passageway. That was till she came upon a door partially hidden from the main passage. By then, the 'jail break' siren was already sounding and Jess figured she could hide and wait it out in there till everything calmed down. What she didn't expect was that she was entering Wufei's martial arts training room and he was currently IN it.  
  
The room was walled in mirrors while the floor was covered in polished wooden planks. Wufei stood in the middle of the room, fist raised and knees bended in a fighting posture, but his face registered shock and surprise. He obviously hadn't counted on her "paying him a visit" that day.  
  
"What the.." he blurted out, then his eyes narrowed as he heard the 'jail break' siren penetrating through the door. He started to charge towards her.  
  
Jess panicked, as would any ordinary girl.  
  
How was she, a NORMAL girl who didn't know the first thing in self-defence, defend herself against a MASTER of martial arts???  
  
As if the heavens took pity on her and decided to change her luck, she spied a pole lying next to her feet. Jess instinctively grabbed the pole and stuck the pole's blunt end at his head level, hoping for a miracle to happen. Or if it didn't, at least a quick, painless death would nice on the list.  
  
Wufei, unable to stop because of the well-polished wooden floors, slammed his head into the pole, knocking himself out. Jess watched as Wufei's eyes rolled into his head, before sinking blissfully to the ground. No doubt his last thoughts were on cursing his diligence in waxing the floors till they shiny enough to see his reflection in; aka, too slippery for any emergency stops.  
  
The guards, hearing the commotion coming from the room, entered before Jess could make another getaway. Thus, even though she was able to knock one of the famed gundam pilots out, she was still caught.  
  
Wufei, who was known to be the girl-hater of the group, had developed an aversion to her ever since the incident. Whenever she was in the vicinity, he made sure there was a wide gap between them while giving her one of those intense hate-filled glares that lasted till she was out of sight.  
  
In fact, it was exactly like the one she was receiving from him right now.  
  
'So what if he's got a huge bruise in the middle of his forehead? It's not like it's life threatening or something. It'll go away after some time. Besides, he should thank me! He looks more like the god he prays to now more than ever! ' she huffed, as she turned the corner with the guards.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Wufei stared at his bruise in the mirror.  
  
How could he, Chang Wufei, Master of Martial Arts, be defeated by a mere girl??! Furthermore, she wasn't even trying at all! All it took was some pure DUMB luck, a piece of stick and he went and conveniently knocked himself out.  
  
'Like as if that wasn't bad enough, I have a BRUISE to show everyone I had been defeated by a mere slip of a girl who doesn't know a single thing, except talk. Like Duo.' Wufei concluded as he looked at his friend through the mirrors.  
  
This had to be the most HUMILIATING thing he had ever suffered.  
  
'Forgive me, Ancestors! For letting our surname be shamed!' Wufei thought as he turned his mournful eyes towards the heavens, or rather ceiling in this case. 'I will avenge and uphold our namesake from now on! This I vow to you and God!'  
  
Feeling better about it, Wufei allowed himself a wicked little smirk as some ideas of what he would do to the girl should the opportunity arise, crossed his mind. He returned to studying his bruise in the mirrors.  
  
  
  
Duo sighed.  
  
'Wufei must be thinking of revenge right now. Too bad he believes the girl is jinxed and refuses to go near her. I would like to see how he's going to get even," Duo thought, shaking his head as a small smile of amusement tugged at the sides of his mouth.  
  
Spitting like a she-cat from the sidelines could hardly count as revenge. Unfortunately, so would glaring.  
  
So far, all of them were placing bets on when Wufei would give up his revenge and today was Duo's turn to watch, since it was his bet time period. Too bad it didn't seem to be ending any time soon. He feared Heero might be right on Wufei taking years to end his grudge on Jess.  
  
'Just like his wife and OZ,' Duo thought and felt a shiver run down his back, 'he never exactly told us what happened...'  
  
Duo turned his attention back to Wufei, only to see his friend studying the bruise on his head again.  
  
'I wonder how she's faring?' he mused, as he turned his eyes to the ceiling in resignation that he wasn't going to win the bet.  
  
Authoress Proclamation: SORRRIEEE about the delay. My diskette ate up my story and my sister went on a few strikes, (Nanako: Serves you right! *nyaa*) so this chapter was posted up much later than I intended. Tension building up for next chapter. Watch for it! :] 


	6. Small talk, Big talk

_An: I see some new faces here:] Nice to see the family enlarging. This chapter is dedicated to Tidgy-Pad, doom, mira and MagWise. For the other reviewers I see breathing: Thank you Kuria, Johnna and Dream Keeper! You guys made my day!_  
  
**Chapter 6**   
  
Doctor J looked up from the mug he was drinking coffee from, with an unreadable face.   
  
"So. You're telling us that you come from another world where we are mere figments of imagination externalized in animation?" he asked with a straight face.   
  
Sally Po, who was standing next to him, cocked an eyebrow.   
  
"Interesting! Tell me more!" Dr J happily demanded, leaning forward in his chair towards Jess.   
  
Jess, Sally Po and the Guards nearly suffered a heart attack. None of them were expecting that.   
  
"**_Doctor!_**" came Sally horrified reply. "This is not the time to be joking! Oz must be planning something big…**HUMUNGOUS** if this girl was able to infiltrate our base!"   
  
"I know! I know!" the doctor defended himself, "It's just that I find it so fascinating…" he murmured on seeing Sally Po turn a murderous face at him. Turning to Jess, he resumed the 'no-nonsense' look and asked: "So, what have Oz planned? I advise you to be frank as your welcome is running rather thin, if you get what I mean…" At these words, he shifted his eyes meaningfully towards Sally.   
  
However, on seeing the girl's stunned face, Dr J softened his voice a little. "I would hate to use torture, but you seem to be leaving us no choice."   
  
With that said, all of them looked expectantly at Jess.  
  
  
Jess' hair prickled at the base of her neck as unwanted memories of all the horror movies she had seen, sprang unbidden to her mind. Missing fingers and toes, bleeding eyes, hacked limbs, etc.   
_'I have to do something fast!'_ she thought desperately as another gruesome vision of being burnt alive flashed in her mind. _'And memo to myself; Don't EVER watch another horror movie!' _  
  
  
  
  
Duo was sucking at his straw and watching the news on TV in the Lounge Room when Quatre came in and sat down next to him.   
  
"Still angry?" Quatre enquired. He didn't need to say who.   
  
"Yeah. And it doesn't seem to be lightening up any time soon. At least until that bruise goes," Duo replied, eyes still fixed on the TV.   
"Pity about the girl though, she paid me for the meal," Duo added grinning, now he had a couple of dollars to buy all those DVDs he was unable to get before.   
_'Hell, with the **old** yen currency she handed me, I could make quite a tidy sum with the right money collector,'_ Duo thought, whistling happily as thoughts of what he would do with the money, went through his head.   
  
Quatre rolled his eyes.   
"You know the reports on her? Some are beginning to believe she's not from OZ but a lunatic escapee from one of the colonies' mental asylums, who sneaked on board when we were stocking up our supplies on food and equipment."   
  
"Yeah well, she'll have to convince them pretty soon. Sally's patience is ticking down to explosion and they seem to want…" Duo let the sentence trail off unfinished. The future for the girl didn't look very optimistic. Quatre nodded in gloomy silence.   
  
"But you know, she keeps sticking to the story we're actually cartoon characters and the story she gives is so detailed. All those repeated accounts and not one single flaw! I mean…under all that pressure, she should slip up here and there…" Quatre turned and looked worriedly at Duo. "Perhaps…what she's saying _is true_…"  
  
Duo looked incredulously up from the TV before smirking at Quatre.   
"If we're really cartoon characters, where are my Superman powers?"   
  
Quarter broke into a cheeky grin, responding "You know, maybe you are a cartoon character."   
  
Duo threw a cushion at him.   
  
  
  
  
Jess had no idea how she convinced them to follow her, but she did. However, there was an itsy, bitsy problem.   
  
She didn't know the level where she fell through the wall was at.   
  
Sally Po's eyebrow was already twitching like mad with impatience and Dr J was looking at her with concern, as if she was mental or something. And to make matters more complicated, they had already been walking for HOURS!   
  
Sally Po's voice was rather constrained considering when she finally spoke: "Where is it?" One could tell she was probably bursting a few blood vessels to keep her voice civil.   
  
Jess found herself sweating like crazy. Hell, if water didn't evaporate, she was certain the whole spaceship would have been flooded by now.   
  
"I…don't know," Jess said weakly, "**but** I'll know the position if Wufei tell us the location when I first met…, I mean _talked_ to him," Jess quickly added on seeing Sally Po's temper about to explode.   
  
"That'll be no problem, little girl. We'll just call him on the intercom," Dr J pointed out. He pulled out a communication device and had the control room intercom Wufei to their position on the spaceship. A few minutes later, a grouchy Wufei appeared.   
  
"What you want?" he snapped, glaring at Jess who tried her best to shrink under his fierce glare.   
  
"Where did you first meet Jess?" Dr J enquired.   
"Why?" Wufei asked curtly.   
  
"It appears that _Little Missy_ has forgotten the floor," Sally Po answered sarcastically, obviously at her patience end.   
  
Wufei stared. His Lucky Day! To be handed such an opportunity, surely the Gods must be listening! At last, revenge would be his!   
_'Just give them the wrong floor and she'll be condemned!' _he thought happily, but somewhere in the back of his mind, another voice spoke up: _'INJUSTICE!'_  
Great! Just what he needed. His superego principality.   
  
"What is wrong with him?" Dr J asked Sally, surprised as Wufei's face started contorting into pain and anguish.   
  
"Beats me," Sally answered, equally amused at this sudden change in the pilot's usually overbearing behaviour.   
  
"He's getting emotionally constipated," Heero speculated, appearing suddenly out of nowhere. "I've looked at OZ records. There seem to be no mention of her anywhere. Chances are she may not be from OZ organization…or anywhere else for that matter," Heero reported, murmuring the last bit to himself while staring hard at Jess.   
  
Jess squirmed under Heero's penetrating stare. Somehow, Wufei's glare seemed much more friendlier than Heero's. Meanwhile, Wufei's superego principality won the battle.   
After a brief, under-the-breath cursing, he finally said: "It's on level 5."   
  
  
  
_Author's Proclamation: There! As promised, things got really interesting but sorry for the lack of humor, unlike the previous chapter. Oh well, on to Chapter 7! _


	7. Believment

AN: Hi there people! I'm a bit pressured right now to FINISH my original story, "CURSED" before Fanfiction scrapes it off the net for good. So I don't really have time to write any dedication. Sooooooo all those that reviewed, these two chapters are dedicated to you all. Sorry no names here, I'm a bit rushed. Enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 7  
  
The whole gang had assembled by the time they reached their destination at level 5.  
  
'What's this? A welcoming committee??!!!' Jess thought as she eyed Duo and Quatre, who joined them when they met in the elevator. Trowa, on the other hand, was in the kitchen preparing some food when they marched past, and came out to see what the commotion was all about.  
  
The group, which had been previously 5; Jess, Doctor J, Sally Po and the Guards, had now been enlarged to10. Standing cramp in the passage was an understatement. They were almost as packed as "sardines in a can". And EVERYONE was looking at her as if she was some sort of entertainment!  
  
"You sure this is the wall?" Sally asked, eyebrow up and facial expression disbelieving. Trowa, Wufei and Heero had similar expressions.  
  
"Well, yeah..." Jess said, but she was beginning to lose confidence. Doubts of whether this was the right place began to fill her mind. 'In fact, I wonder if there's other places that look like this?' Jess worried.  
  
"So?" Wufei had a way of making those uncomfortable, even more uncomfortable.  
  
* sigh.... * 'Here goes,' Jess thought to herself as she stretched out her hand.  
  
There was a moment of silence.  
  
Sally Po raised an eyebrow.  
  
Jess was touching solid metal.  
  
Sally exploded: "I knew it! This girl is a fraud! How can anyone actually believe her stories?! I must be insane to go along with this masquerade! Oh God...!"  
  
"But it's true! I'm telling you it's true!" Jess shouted, trying to make herself heard above the den Sally was making, while repeatedly pounding the wall with her hand, all the while looking desperately at everyone.  
  
However, as she hit the wall on the third time, it did not produce any sound. Heero's eyes widen, and everyone fell silent except Sally, who was still whining to the universe on insanity and facing the opposite wall. In astonishment, Jess looked down at her hand. Her arm was extended straight out, but where her hand should have connected with the metal wall, it was missing. The arm itself appeared to go through the wall.  
  
"Sally... shut up," Dr J's order finally came. Sally turned around, looked at Jess, and stared. Hard. Jess pulled out her arm and wiggled the fingers. All intact, nothing missing.  
  
'I can go home,' Jess thought as happiness swelled inside of her. Turning to the group, she bowed, said bye and ran into the wall. The next thing she knew, everything turned black around her.  
  
  
  
Jess awoke in a hospital room. Her vision was dark and for a moment, she was struck by a horrible thought that she had lost her sight. But her eyes adjusted and she saw that it was night.  
  
Feeling along the wall behind her, she found a switch, flip it on and light flooded the room.  
  
Sitting next to her bed was a person staring at her.  
  
Jess gave the LOUDEST scream she could master.  
  
  
  
"Did you have to scream that loud?!?" Wufei shouted at her. His ears were still ringing from her loudspeaker voice.  
  
'WHERE on earth does she store them?' he thought, looking at the detestable skinny frame of a girl in front of him. He stuck a finger in each ear and wriggled them, in hope of lessening the ringing in his ears.  
  
Duo looked over his shoulder cheekily. "I do NOT look like her," Wufei said before Duo had a chance to speak.  
  
"Say what you want, it's a free world and I can think whatever I like," Duo replied cheerfully before jumping away to hide behind Heero as the Chinese boy fixed him a glare of death.  
  
"Huh?" Jess was feeling mighty confused. "What about my looks?" she asked dangerously.  
  
Duo pointed to the mirror located above a basin, cheekily grinning away like an idiot. Jess swung her legs over the bed railings and jumped to the ground. By this time, all 5 pilots were backing towards the door.  
  
Quatre, Heero and Trowa were slowly inching out. Wufei made no effort to hide his immediate scramble for the door while Duo walked whistling out as if everything in the world was all right.  
  
By the time she got to the basin, those still not out the door were making a run for it. She turned, looked in the mirror... and screamed.  
  
  
  
"HOW DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME?!" Jess had Duo by his braid and was choking off Quatre's air supply by looping her arm around his neck.  
  
Duo looked around worriedly.  
  
Jess black and blue nose, together with an unsightly blue-black bump in the middle of her forehead, made her look even scarier. For once, the guy who called himself Death, was afraid of someone. Quatre, meanwhile, was going blue in the face as he struggled to loosen Jess's grip... gently.  
  
Duo rolled his eyes. For a gentle soul, Quatre needed help to cut the boundaries of when to be kind, and when it was essential to be rough.  
  
"Fine! I tell you as soon as you let go of my friend a little," Duo replied.  
  
"No," came the reply, cutting and short like Wufei's. Duo squirmed. Wufei would have his head for such thoughts.  
  
"How about letting him breathe?"  
  
"No."  
  
Loosen your grip on my hair?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Please?"  
  
"No."  
  
Duo sighed. The girl looked ready to spit fire like Sally. "Okay, okay," he relented, "It appears the portal closed after you took you hand out. So when you ran into the wall, you knocked yourself out. But look on the bright side, everyone believes you now."  
  
Jess eyes narrowed. Quatre started to choke even more.  
  
  
  
* THUMP! * * THUMP! * * THUMP! *  
  
Wufei looked up from the book he was reading.  
  
* THUMP! *  
  
There it was again.  
  
Wufei flung the book down on the bed and made for the door. Standing in the doorway, Wufei listened for the "THUMPs!" that weren't long in coming.  
  
" What the * THUMP! * is HAPPENING?!!?!" * THUMP! * * THUMP! *  
  
He rounded the bend to his left and stopped dead in his tracks. The girl was holding a wrench and was currently dismantling the wall, which had nothing beyond it except pure, deadly space. Quatre, with horror written all over his face, was standing behind the girl squished up against the wall. While Duo was sitted next to the girl, holding an electrical flame, obviously in the act of helping the girl dismantle the wall.  
  
"WHAT the HELL do you THINK you're doing??!!!" Wufei shouted at them. Everyone stopped in mid-tracks. The girl had the wrench up in mid-air, frozen. Duo had turned to look at him, torch still spewing fire, and Quatre had turned to him, face written all over: "Thank You! There IS a God!"  
  
  
  
One hour later, Wufei was still lecturing Duo and Jess in the passageway. The rest of the Gundam pilots were gathered already with Sally and Dr J, updated on the most recent events by Quatre. Sally Po was frowning while Dr J was nodding his head up and down at every sensible argument Wufei put forth. Duo was dwindling his thumbs and obviously not paying attention. But of course, the main focus of the lecture wasn't on him. It was on Jess.  
  
Jess sighed inwardly, put on her "listening face" and started daydreaming. From the looks of it, Wufei didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.  
  
  
  
Author's Proclamation: I'm afraid my beta reader has got a job and unable to correct any mistakes I make, so ignore them. I will, however, delete the chapters and replace them once she has time to read and edit it! Hang in there people! 


	8. Bim, Bang, Bom!

Chapter 8  
  
Jess was back in her metal room cum prison, locked alone and sulking on the coach again. 3 weeks had already passed since she had first came here and it didn't seem she'd be having any freedom soon. Not with Wufei's room located so near the wall...  
  
"So I just made a few loud noises every day, big deal! He won't hear it once I'm gone," She muttered angrily to herself. "A few minutes of missing sleep can't be that bad either. What a moronic ass!" Jess concluded with a grimace as she continued sulking on the couch.  
  
  
  
Wufei was in the kitchen when Quatre found him. Since Wufei was busy at the counter making coffee, Quatre took the chair behind the table that offered him the best advantage of the boy's back.  
  
"What?" Wufei demanded as Quatre continued to stare silently into his back.  
  
"Oh. Nothing... It's just that, don't you think you were a bit mean to ask, no, demand she be locked in her room?" Quatre enquired politely.  
  
"That crazy girl made a lot of noise," Wufei replied angrily, still stirring his cup of coffee at the counter.  
  
"That girl was trying to get home," Quatre answered gently.  
  
"That crazy girl made me LOSE SLEEP!" Wufei shouted as he turned around to face his friend.  
  
Quatre grasped. The Chinese boy looked TERRIBLE. From the back he looked normal, but from the front, it was another matter altogether. Wufei's eyes were bloodshot and the RINGS around them were almost as black as his pupils. Coupled with his now protruding cheekbones and strands of loose hair around his face, the boy looked like a Chinese panda starved and kept awake for weeks on the end!  
  
"Oh...! I am so sorry, I didn't know..."Quatre started apologizing, feeling really bad.  
  
"Forget it. Everyone gives me the same reaction all the time," the Chinese boy replied coolly as he turned around to continue making his coffee. Silence fell heavily and thick between the two of them, the only sound coming from Wufei's coffee cup as he stirred sugar into the coffee.  
  
  
  
Duo was bored. Trowa was no where to be found, Heero was as usual lavishing his attention on Wing, and Quatre and Wufei seem to be having a private talk in the kitchen. To be truthful, Duo was trying to stir clear from Wufei. His temperament was turning sourer each day, especially when the last week consisted of the girl banging the wall outside his room everyday, almost every minute, in the effort to try discover the opening of the portal while Wufei lost sleep.  
  
Duo was the first to discover his foul mood since he was the first to ask Wufei's reason for locking the girl in her room. Wufei had all, but snapped his head off with his answer.  
  
His haggled appearance was also a cause of worry to his friends. "Perhaps that's why Dr J agreed to his request," Duo muttered to himself. Then he brightened. Since the girl was all alone, no doubt she'll be as bored as he was. 'We can try building something! It'll be fun,' Duo thought as he skipped to the control room to ask permission for the girl to join him in engineering.  
  
  
  
Half an hour later, Duo was chatting the girl's ears off as he led her towards the "garage room". Stepping into it, Jess grasp with awe.  
  
The room four walls were at least 3 storeys high and made out of solid steel, each wall having a pattern of squares. Various tools and mechanic equipments hang from various hooks and corners, scattered among the walls. However, towards one wall, there lay a mountain of equipment parts, piled up high almost to the ceiling. Jess lifted her hand and pointed at that. "What's that?" she asked.  
  
"Storage parts," came the cheerful reply.  
  
"Don't you have compartments to keep them?" Jess asked, scrutinizing the metal junk of a mountain. The pile looked dangerous, like the wrong pull would result in a metal avalanche.  
  
"Yeah, but it's convenient this way," Duo answered, shrugging his shoulders at her.  
  
Jess felt the true answer was more likely laziness.  
  
Grinning from ear to ear, Duo turned and asked her whether she knew any basic engineering. Jess shook her head. "Not even one?" he enquired, eyes pleading with her that it wouldn't be so. It was hard to resist him.  
  
"Nope. Sorry."  
  
"Oh well, should be interesting to teach you some basics," he said after looking her up and down. Jess started to worry.  
  
  
  
* BIM! PAM! BOOM! *  
  
The spaceship shook slightly, and then the fire alarm went off, drowsing everyone with water.  
  
Everyone: soldiers, pilots, and Dr J went rushing towards the sound. Heero was the first to reach the shutter doors of the "garage room". White smoke was already billowing out from the gap beneath the door.  
  
"What the... DUO!" Heero shouted as he grabbed the shutter door handle and tried to pull it open. Duo, mischief-maker of the ship, was given this room to go crazy in, and ONLY he ever entered this room.  
  
"Please let him be alright. Please!" Heero desperately prayed in his head, over and over again as he tugged with all his might on the stubborn door.  
  
By then, everyone had arrived at the scene and Sally Po was giving orders to help Heero open the door and get ready the fire hose to put out any fire inside.  
  
No sooner had she finished giving instructions, the door gave a groan and opened by itself. Heero backed away as the white smoke billowed into the hall as the door opened wider. Then, Heero watched amazed as 2 black figures came stumbling out coughing, covered from head to toe in ash.  
  
The first to regain his voice was Duo. "What the hell did you do?" he asked between coughs.  
  
"Exactly the way you taught me to," came the reply.  
  
"Yeah, but it's not suppose to have that reaction."  
  
"Which goes to show I have a lousy teacher."  
  
"Not."  
  
"To."  
  
"Not."  
  
"To."  
  
Heero watched the argument with growing amusement. Two very black figures, the eyes and mouths being the only areas of white skin on blacken faces, the clothes on their backs retaining the original color while the fronts were completely black, and their hair looking pretty messed up like some lighting bolt had hit them and fried the hair cuticles till they were standing up on their own, they were quite a sight to see! Heero felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.  
  
Sally Po, on the other hand, didn't look very amused. "What HAPPENED?" she asked in a quiet and threatening voice. That was enough to halt Duo and the girl in mid-quarrel. Heero observed the expressions on their faces change from the "Oh-I-must-win" to "Oh-oh- Trouble" look. Heero started laughing.  
  
  
  
Sally ignored Heero's laughter. She always found the boy too uptight and serious about everything, so a weird humor didn't come as a surprise to her. "Answer me," she said, focusing her icy glare on Duo. He could never stand against her icy glare and of course, Duo broke down pretty quickly.  
  
"I tried to teach her engineering," came his quiet reply. TOO quiet and TOO innocent looking.  
  
"Which area?" short and precise question, indicating a precise answer was in order.  
  
Duo shuffled his foot a little, looking at the ground, afraid to see her demanding expression. Jess was similarly looking at the ground, afraid to look at her face too.  
  
"WELL?" Sally demanded when they didn't seem to answering, tiring of the wait and afraid of what she was going to hear as the wait lengthened.  
  
"Bomb-making." 


	9. Illusion or Reality?

AN: Interesting chapter today! Enjoy! Dedications for this chapter go out to: Centrau guardian, Ryo Togero, Kuria, Misori-chan, Nikiyru Kaoru, Dream Keeper, Joanna, Zero aka Cloud and MagWise. Wow, my reviewers are getting more. So thanks for the reviews from my old readers and my new ones! Love ya.  
  
By the way, due to no more dateline for erasing 'Cursed', I guess I can have more time for Gundam. Hopefully... :]  
  
  
  
Chapter 9  
  
"You did WHAT??!?!!" Sally shouted, feeling anger and horror rise within her. The girl was no doubt older than most of the Gundam pilots, but as far as the accounts were given, she had no experience whatsoever in engineering, much less making something as dangerous as a bomb.  
  
"What if something went WRONG??!" she shouted at Duo. The culprit was looking really guilty.  
  
Then Sally sighed. Duo was never the mature one; he was just the manic with a genius at engineering but no brains when it came to sensibility. After all, he always acted younger than his age, unlike Heero or Wufei who seemed to be much more matured than their outside appearances.  
  
She looked at Duo. He was doing that pleading eye thing again; the lip trembling, eyes wide, trying to look innocent and pitiful. Sally gave up; Duo was hard to stay mad at for long. Sighing again, and Duo seeming to know she wasn't mad at him anymore, she at last said: "Follow me to the clinic." Smirking as Duo lost his smile. She watched as he tried to sneak off but her next instructions stopped him in his tracks.  
  
"Bring the girl with you, we need to check for radiation."  
  
Obediently, Duo dropped his head and quietly followed Sally as he pulled the girl along.  
  
  
  
"You think they'll be alright?" Quatre asked worriedly, watching Duo and the girl trudge down the passage and round the corner after Sally. Wufei and Heero just ignored the question.  
  
Trowa was the one who answered: "The girl, maybe. For Duo, it'll be another matter altogether..." All of them fell into a silent gloom after that statement. Then Wufei sighed.  
  
"Anyone wants to go to the clinic with me?"  
  
************************************************************************  
  
As soon as all of them trooped down to the clinic, they could hear Duo's voice through the door shouting: "No injection! Jess, SAVE me!" The thumping of feet, then the clatter of something metal falling down was heard.  
  
"Stay STILL!" came Sally's exasperated voice.  
  
"I'll take anything but needles!" came Duo's half pleading, half wincing voice. Meanwhile, Jess voice was also heard shouting: "Let go of me! You're hurting me!"  
  
"No! Not until you get her to agree to stop injecting me!"  
  
"Duo, you're suffocating Jess, just let her go," came Sally's calm voice.  
  
They could hear a choking voice through the door, presumably Jess's. Wufei's eyebrow lifted in amusement.  
  
On opening the door, quite an amazing sight greeted their eyes. The clinic was in a MESS. Things were turned over, clinical equipment littered the floor, Sally standing at one end, breathing hard, her hair messed up, while one of Jess's foot was brought up and propped against Sally's chest, preventing her from coming near.  
  
Jess, on the other hand, was stuck up against Duo who was using her as shield, her neck bended at an awkward angle as Duo looped his arm around it, the other hand putting pressure at a point on her neck. Wufei noticed he was using the "Shu Teng Ki Chen" technique that allowed the user to use another opponent's body to play defense against another.  
  
'So he remembers,' Wufei thought, a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth. His recollection of Duo learning "Shu Teng Ki Chen" was different, however. It involved a chicken. Events of Duo learning it on the chicken was best not remembered, but at the end of it, the chicken was only too glad to die at the hands of Heero. Hell, it even went after Heero and waited patiently in front of the barrel for the trigger to be pulled. And after Duo had shredded a few tears over the lost of his pet (he was planning on keeping it and Wufei had a haunch it knew), he plucked out the feathers and turned it into roast chicken for that night's dinner.  
  
However, that wasn't so bad. The ape was worse. Wufei shivered at the memory of the lessons on it. The ape died bald, hairless all over.  
  
Meanwhile, Jess was still choking and her face was turning Blue.  
  
  
  
"Release. The girl. NOW," Sally said in a threatening voice as her eyes narrowed to slits. She was beginning to worry how much time she had to save the girl from death of suffocation, which Duo seemed to be ignorant of. She worriedly looked at the girl, seeing her body going limp as each second passed.  
  
  
  
Duo was opening his mouth when Wufei cut in.  
  
"Duo. You remember what I told you on how long you can use "Shu Teng Ki Chen" on a person?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"How long have you been holding on to her?"  
  
Duo started counting. Everyone sighed.  
  
"You better release her now, she's not breathing," Wufei finally said with resignation.  
  
Duo released his hold and Jess crumbled to the floor like a broken doll, unmoving as she lay there.  
  
"Oh my GOD!" came Duo's horrified exclamation.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
'Where am I?' Jess thought as she looked around. She was in a void, darkness surrounding her and seeming to stretch on forever.  
  
'Why am I here? Oh yeah. Duo,' Jess remembered. 'So, am I dead?'  
  
A flash of blue appeared in front of her and formed a door.  
  
'Hey! Isn't this exactly like when I first fell and entered the Gundam World?' Jess thought as she floated closer to the door of blue.  
  
Seeing in, she could trace out the office, Johnson and gang staring open mouth at her through the door and the guide jumping up and down in excitement behind the group.  
  
'I'm going home,' Jess thought happily, before a flash of white light appeared from behind her, enveloping her as she started to go through the door of blue light.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"She's coming through." A female voice. Jess struggled to open her eyes.  
  
"Thank Allah, she's all right," a gentle guy's voice spoke in answer to the woman's call.  
  
"She's alright! She's alright!" a third voice echoed the second, this time sounding like an excited boy shouting next to her ear as she opened her eyes into bright white light, forcing her to quickly close them.  
  
'Must be Johnson or one of the Baboons,' she thought to herself and groaned. The last thing she wanted to see was their faces first. Her recovery might have a relapse.  
  
"Duo! Put me down NOW!" Another boy's voice, more deep sounding than the third spoke out.  
  
'Duo?' Jess brain started waking.  
  
"Sorry Wufei. I'm just so glad!"  
  
'Wufei?' Jess brain clicked at the moment as she forced her eyes to open and adjust quick time to the glaring lights.  
  
Duo was hugging Wufei and lifting him three inches off the ground, Heero was just glaring at her like some bothersome bug he'll rather ignore, Quatre was smiling gently at her while Trowa was holding a glass of water out to her. Sally's face popped into view and said: "Welcome back," with a smile, while Wufei took his time to detangle himself from Duo's arms.  
  
Jess just took one look at them, and then burst into tears.  
  
"What the... What's wrong? Anywhere hurting?" Duo asked worriedly, afraid that he had hurt her unconsciously. "I'm really sorry. I won't do it next time."  
  
The girl stopped crying, looked at him, then continued crying again. Now Duo was feeling really worried.  
  
"Look, how can I make it up to you?"  
  
The girl stopped crying again, looked at him and asked: "Have you taken your jab?" Sally shook her head and the rest of the pilots started grinning at Duo while he swallowed nervously.  
  
  
  
Author's Proclamation: Just to let you know, it seems that my beta reader has gotten a permanent job and is unable to be my editor anymore. Sadly, that means my story will contain mistakes on spelling and grammar. But here's to my sister: Nanako. We will always be grateful for your kindness in editing my work. Here's to you. :_[ 


	10. Series of events

AN: Hey people! Good to see you again! And we finally see one of the old reviewers returning to read! Welcome back Misori-chan! We were getting worried. :] This chapter is dedicated to: Zero aka Cloud, Kuria, Dream Keeper and Misori-chan! A special welcome and dedication is extended to our new reviewers who joined the family: Eevetta, lieutenant and Nikoyru Kaoru! Yehhhhhhhh! (I always wanted to welcome the new reviewers but I didn't have time. :p) Now that load's off my shoulder:  
  
On with the fic!  
  
  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Duo rubbed the area on his butt where he imagined the needle had poked him, visualizing the pain over and over again in his head.  
  
"Never again," he muttered to himself as the rest of the pilots walked alongside of him, grinning away like idiots.  
  
"Traitors!" he said, fixing his glare on Wufei and Heero, who had held him down during the jab. Both of them just gave him a smirk. Quatre just shook his head in amusement while Trowa's grin got bigger.  
  
"Just consider it punishment for what you did to that girl," Quatre said calmly, before quickly darting into the kitchen.  
  
"Yeah. Just take it like a man. Hurts less than a bullet if you ask me," Wufei added, face returning to its stone mask.  
  
"True, but you SEE it coming and it's INSERTED into your body. It's not natural! Medicine should be EATEN, not place in your body to mangle with your blood," Duo retorted, entering the kitchen last. "At least with a bullet, you get shot at suddenly or get a choice to CHOOSE whether you want to get shot or not."  
  
"You obviously haven't met Zech with a gun yet," Trowa spoke, taking his seat between Wufei and Heero.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You'll be dancing to a different tune," Heero answered for Trowa.  
  
Duo groaned.  
  
"You guys are really scary sometimes. I can almost understand why some people fear you in OZ," Duo muttered as he tentatively sat down in his chair, fearing his butt would be on fire if he sat down his normal seat- pluming way.  
  
The rest of the pilots gave each other THE LOOK.  
  
"Hn."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Once the boys were gone, Sally started giving Jess a more thorough check up to ensure her patient wasn't suffering from any casualty.  
  
"So, how are you feeling?" she asked, while checking Jess's pulse rate.  
  
'Amazing! Normal, just like ours. Hard to believe she's not one of us,' Sally thought, stealing a glance at the girl's face, which was still pale in color.  
  
"Weak," came the girl's answer.  
  
"Well, are you allergic to any kind of medicine?" she asked, allowing her doctor side to take over and check that she didn't make any mistake. Rule number 1 on any doctor's list: be extra careful with prescription of medicine to patients.  
  
"Yeah... I can't really remember the name... I think it's something like 'areophomyic'."  
  
Sally looked at the girl's face again. She could tell the girl was still a little... disorientated.  
  
"I could do a blood sample and see what type of medicine you are allergic to," she added quietly, taking pity on the girl. "That is if you don't mind."  
  
The girl shrugged and held out her arm. Sally tied the elastic band near the elbow area and took a small blood sample, which she labeled Jess's name and underneath: Do today.  
  
"You better go back to your room for a bit of rest. I'll call you when I have finish analyzing your blood sample," she instructed, while untying the elastic band around Jess's arm.  
  
The girl nodded obediently and walked out the door. Sally sighed; feeling a little bit worried for the girl in her current situation. Then she settled down at her desk to start analyzing the blood sample.  
  
A few minutes later, a knock sounded at her door.  
  
"Come in," Sally called without taking her eyes off the computer. The door opened and Sally's eyes widened as she looked up. The girl, looking rather guilty, was standing there.  
  
"Left something behind?" Sally asked, concerned.  
  
The girl shook her head.  
  
"Something wrong suddenly?" she asked again as she got out of her seat, now worried that perhaps she had missed something.  
  
The girl shook her head again.  
  
"Then what is it?" she asked, gently taking the girl by the shoulders, searching for any clues that the girl was unwell.  
  
"Where's my room?"  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Wufei scowled as he made his way down the passage. The reason for his bad mood was attributed to the girl walking beside him slowly.  
  
"Why do I have to be the one who's escorting her?!?" he grumbled under his breath while shooting the girl murderous glares every time she slowed down. Unfortunately, all his efforts were going to waste, as the girl was too tired to concentrate on anything other than the floor and her feet.  
  
Feeling vastly irritated beyond his tolerance level, he said aloud: "Nu Ren! Zhen Ma Fan!" (Women! Really a bother!) [1]  
  
He stumbled and almost fell when he heard her resort: " Ke! Nan Ren You Se Mer Hao Chu?!" (Ke! Men got what good points?!)  
  
Splattering and choking, he watched the girl move slowly ahead of him. Then, she stopped in front of her door. On opening the door leading to her room, she turned, faced him and said: "Arigatou gozaimasu," before turning and walking into her room, slamming the door behind her.  
  
Wufei was left, standing in the middle of the passage, mouth hanging open and eyes as wide as saucers, as the echo of the door slamming vibrated in the passage around his small frame.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Today is Trowa's turn to cook for the pilots. Frowning, he looked at the open shelves in the kitchen.  
  
"Hmmmm... Tabasco, spaghetti strands, pizza sauce, mince meat, chill, mushrooms, tarco chips, etc," he muttered to himself.  
  
Trowa's eyes gleamed. He LOVES Mexican food, especially when it is chill HOT!  
  
  
  
"So! Who's cooking?" Duo asked chirpily as he skipped into the lounge room. Heero and Quatre were watching the news on TV from the couch while Wufei practiced with his sword.  
  
"You wouldn't be so happy if you knew who it was," Wufei answered grouchily, throwing in a stroke as if he was stabbing someone.  
  
"Hey! Where's Trowa?" Duo asked, suddenly realizing he was the only person in the group missing.  
  
Then, the truth finally dawned on him as Wufei asked: "You can't eat hot, can you?"  
  
"Quick! Heero! Where's your favorite hiding place?!" Duo asked in desperation, clutching at Heero's shirt after accomplishing the amazing feat of jumping over the couch to get in front of him.  
  
Heero shook his head.  
  
"Too late. He found me out the last time he was cooking," Heero said grimly.  
  
"Wu-man! Buddy!" Duo turned abruptly, changing tactics.  
  
"For the last time, it's WUFEI! And no, he got me covered this time by threatening to break all my swords in half," Wufei replied worriedly, unconsciously stroking his sword. Everyone could see his swords mean more to him than losing his taste buds when it comes to Trowa's hot-as-fire dinners.  
  
Duo took a glance at Quarte.. and promptly dismissed him from his mind. Quatre always showed up for everyone's dinner, no matter if his taste buds were in danger or not.  
  
'A hiding place? Nah. Quatre wouldn't have any,' Duo thought as his eyes looked around the room in wild desperation. 'Wonder if he has any taste buds to start with?' he mused as his eyes landed again on Quatre's relaxed posture and complacent face as he watched the news with a now uptight Heero sitted next to him. It seemed that everyone but him feared Trowa's hot-as- hell dinners.  
  
Duo looked at the clock and gave a small "yep!" Half an hour and counting down to doom.  
  
"You'll think he'll buy my story I have a stomach ache?" he addressed the room in general. The pilots just shook their heads and continued on with what they were doing.  
  
  
  
[1] Words are in Chinese.  
  
Author's Proclamation: Hope you all enjoy the chapter. Me have to run now and write the story 'Cursed'. Check it out if you're free! :] 


	11. Retribution

AN: Hey People! Sorry I haven't written for so long. I had lots of homework to do so didn't have the luxury of time to type. As I can see, a reviewer is already impatient to read so much that it seems he/she have successfully brought my STORY to life! To you, I'm sorry about the delay for so long. :] Here's the chapter you are so eagerly anticipating.  
  
But before I go, a dedication to my loyal and sweet reviewers: Nikoryu Kaoru, Kuria and Magical Wisekill.  
  
To the new reviewers, thanks for joining the family! Welcome: SilverWingedDragon, Eria, Silent Fear and Shellie!  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
  
  
Chapter 11  
  
* Bang! *  
  
Jess awoke to the sound of her room door slamming shut. Her eyes had hardly time to open when someone made a DIVE into her cupboard at the side of the room, opening and closing the doors shut.  
  
"Whazz theszz go...?"  
  
Her question was rudely interrupted by her room door being forcefully opened again. In the doorway stood a really angry Trowa. Jess mind clicked. Her room, she's sleeping and a GUY is standing in the doorway look in at her in her PJs. What to do?  
  
Jess clutched her blanket tightly around herself and screamed her loudest.  
  
Trowa's eyes widened and he hurriedly slammed the door shut with a shouted apology on the other side of the door.  
  
  
  
Trowa had just slammed the door shut when the other pilots ran up to him.  
  
"What! Who's screaming?" Quatre asked, concern in his voice.  
  
Trowa could feel an unwanted blush climb up his face despite his best efforts to keep his deadpan look and shook his head.  
  
"Infiltration in wrong base," he answered curtly before stalking past them. Wufei sniggered while Heero cocked an eyebrow and went: "Hnnn..." in a very interested way. Quatre continued to look puzzled.  
  
"Damn MAXWELL!" Trowa grounded out between clutched teeth as he headed for the kitchen. "I owe you one for this!"  
  
  
  
Jess turned to her cupboard and looked. The doors were still shut. Her mind, now high on adrenaline due to the unexpected and embarrassing appearance of Trowa in her room, was going into overtime. She quickly surveyed her room for a possible weapon and found nothing but a safety pin on her bedside dresser that was possibly the only thing capable of inflicting pain, besides the option of the dresser and the bed, which were nailed to the floor.  
  
Slowly, she got up and picked the safety pin off the top of the dresser situated at the head of her bed. Looking at the small safety pin, not much bigger than her thumbnail, a sense of depression went through her.  
  
'Some weapon,' Jess thought, seeing her palm dwarf the small pin in the middle. 'Whoever is in there is more likely to die of laughter than be intimidated by this pin!'  
  
But looking around the room again for a better option, Jess gave up.  
  
'Oh well, it may not be much of a weapon but it'll have to do! At least I'm certain it will inflict more pain than my toothbrush!' she thought determinedly, unlatching the pin and pulling it straight out till it resembled a thin wicked needle, before approaching the cupboard with caution.  
  
On reaching the cupboard, she steeled herself for the confrontation.  
  
"1... 2... 3!" she muttered to herself as she flung the doors open with one hand, the other raising the pin right over her head, ready to drive it into flesh should anything displeasing occur.  
  
"Arhhh! No! STOP!" Duo muffled cry stilled her hand in mid-action as she started to bring it down on the intruder. Jess looked at Duo in amazement.  
  
There was the long-braided boy, crouching down among her clothes and TRYING to conceal himself among her underwear!  
  
"What the hell do you think you're DOING!?!!?" Jess shouted at him, feeling her face go red on seeing him clutching a bra in one hand and a few panties in the other.  
  
"Hiding," came his whispered reply as he tried to peer around the cupboard doors to survey his situation, oblivious to an angry girl staring daggers at him. "He's gone?" he asked hopefully, giving her his innocent-eye look as if he wasn't caught in such an embarrassing situation. Jess flexed the muscles in her hands and cracked her knuckles.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
* Bang! * * Crash! *  
  
"Ouch!" came the shout along the hallway outside the kitchen. The Gundam pilots looked up at each other in question.  
  
"What was that?" Quatre asked worriedly. The rest of the pilots shrugged.  
  
Wufei was busy gulping down another glass of water, adding it to his 10th one. Heero was busy blowing his nose where it had continuously flowed since the start of dinner and was onto his third box of tissue. Meanwhile, Quatre had been eating his dinner with small bites as his eyes watered. Only Trowa was happily munching his hot spaghetti and tacos and was taking seconds!  
  
"Too bad Duo's not here to enjoy this! He's really missing out on good food!" Trowa said to the rest of the pilots in general between bites. The pilots kept quiet to that comment.  
  
Then both Jess and Duo popped into view in the kitchen doorway. Wufei started choking on his water, Heero missed placing the tissue on his nose and ended up dirtying his cheek, while Quatre's spaghetti fell off his fork, which he held in mid-air, paused in the action of eating and mouth still opened, only this time gasping at the sight in front of his eyes.  
  
Trowa just looked up and said: "Glad you could join us." Before turning back to his plate. "Serve yourselves. Mince meat in a separate pot from sauce."  
  
And the reason for such shock among the pilots was the sight before their eyes. Both people in the doorway were pretty messed up. Jess's patient robe was set slightly askew on her bony shoulders, her hair was all over her face and one could just barely trace out her eyebrows being drawn close together in anger as she breathed hard, as if she had just ran a mile. Meanwhile, in her hand, she held a long, brown braid, or whatever was left with strands escaping out from along the length of it.  
  
Meanwhile, Duo on the other hand, looked worse for wear. His bangs and braid were in disarray, a ring of bruise was circling one of his eye, a few scratches on his arm, mouth slightly cut and looking miserable as the girl held on to his braid in one of her hands, and the other hand hidden behind his neck.  
  
Heero was surprised. The guy who had always gotten himself out of worse trouble, like fatal gunpoint, was being held prisoner by a mere slip of a girl. Looking at his co-pilots, he saw he wasn't the only one; that is except Trowa who had continued to eat his meal with great gusto. All of the remaining pilots' eyes had widen till one could see the whites surrounding the pupils, and mouths falling open at Duo's quiet and obedient attitude.  
  
"How...?" Heero needn't ask. Duo had already turn mournful eyes on him.  
  
"Heero! Help me!" came his plead.  
  
"Move!" the girl commanded as Heero got out of his seat to come to his friend's rescue. Then, the couple marching forward and turning to the right to get the empty seat beside Trowa, everyone got a clear view of what tamed the wild pilot in their group. Quatre muffled his laughter behind his hand. Wufei started making a funny choking sound at the back of his throat, which turned to a hacking cough, and Heero stopped in his tracks with a tiny lopsided smile. The girl was holding a safety pin to Duo's neck.  
  
"Needle," they said to each other in unison, grinning.  
  
  
  
Author's Proclamation: Well! I hope you like that. See you guys again in next week, if I don't have much homework, or next two weeks. :] 


	12. And the cycle begins again

AN: Sorry I took so long to upload this chapter! I had quite a busy week and my sister was hogging the computer!  
  
  
  
  
  
Anyway, without futher ado, I dedicate this chapter to Misori-chan, Jonnna, Kuria, Nikoryu Kaoru and Dream Keeper! I also see one of my other readers making a pleasing appearance! Welcome back Tidgy-Pud! And Yehhhhh! You guys are the greatest!  
  
A new reader has also joined the reviewer family: Let's welcome Nameless Warrior of Darkness! Yeahhhhh! Nice to see I have so many in the family. :]  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 12  
  
Wufei looked up from his computer to survey Duo or rather... his empty seat at dinner. Ever since the girl had forced a large portion of Trowa's dinner down his throat, he had shut himself in his room (with a lot of junk food), declaring a strike till the girl apologized to him directly. It greatly amused him and the pilots for the first two days but on the third day, everyone was becoming a little... worried.  
  
Meanwhile, the girl had made very little appearances around the ship combined these five days than what she usually made in a day. Sally had told them she was receiving her meals in her room and needn't step out of her room unnecessarily unless nature calls. Her last instruction to them was: "Leave her alone. She is recuperating!" before slamming the door in their faces. Obviously they had interrupted her during an important experiment. Wufei could distinctively remember some black smoke billowing out from behind her before the door shut. And an angry Sally was not a Sally to be trifled with or ignore orders given by her easily.  
  
Meanwhile, Quatre was fretting over the extra portion he cooked and wondering how much food he could stuff under Duo's door.  
  
'Like that will help! Duo's door has no gaps, they're sliding doors!' Wufei thought as he watch Quartre cram another large portion of Arabian food into an oversized container that no one for sure could eat finish its contents. 'Besides, that container can't go through any gaps under any doors,' he concluded, amused as he watch Quatre cram in another large ladle of Arabian food into the already full container.  
  
Then sighing and hating himself for what he was going to do, he asked the blond: "Got extra for da bao?" (Got extra for take away?)  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Holding an equally large container in his hand fifteen minutes later, Wufei made his way to the girl's room.  
  
"She's never going to finish this, no matter how hungry she is," Wufei muttered to himself, eyeing the container in his hand. The container was almost as large as his head!  
  
'Trust Quatre to cook a lot, so none of us ever go hungry and we end up eating the rest of it for the next three day!' he thought, making a face. 'At least it ain't HOT!'  
  
Wufei reached the outside of the girl's door and raised his hand to knock. Her door was different from theirs; there was a build in flap at the bottom of the door (their equation to a convenient dungeon or if needed be, a "guest room"). But in a way, it was fashioned after his; you didn't press a button to open the door, you used your hand and turn the knob to open instead. Duo called him old-fashioned most of the time. Wufei usually would ignore those comments or give a seething reply about tradition and Duo's lack of knowledge for it.  
  
He rapped twice on the metal door. No answer. He knocked harder three times. Still no answer. Feeling his vein pop, he started pounding the door till it shook in its frame.  
  
"What?!" a very annoyed voice spoke up from behind him. Turning around, he came face to face with a very annoyed looking Jess with one fist raised and aiming for his face.  
  
"What do you think you're doing, woman?!!" Wufei shouted as he ducked out of harms way.  
  
"Girl!" the girl shouted back at him.  
  
"Whatever! Will you stop trying to knock me out??!" Wufei yelled as he dodged another of Jess's blows.  
  
The girl stopped aiming and asked again: "What?" She didn't need to specify her question.  
  
"Lunch," Wufei answered, holding up the large container in his hand. The girl goggled at the lunch box.  
  
"You expect me to finish THAT??!!?" she asked, a look of incredulousness spreading across her face. "Are you crazy or an idiot?!"  
  
Wufei didn't like the last question.  
  
"Listen woman..." He began.  
  
"Girl!" the girl interrupted him in mid-sentence.  
  
"Well, whatever! Eat and go apologize."  
  
"No."  
  
Wufei blinked. Never, in his whole life, had anyone said that word to him, definitely not a woman.  
  
'Girl.' He quickly mended that thought. He had known a girl who defied him in every way.  
  
'Oh well, nothing like the old cold, stony glare to melt a girl's reserve,' he thought, shrugging his shoulders lightly.  
  
Wufei glared at her stonily. The girl returned his glare perfectly.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Quatre looked up from his plate of food at the dinner table.  
  
"Where is Wufei?" he asked the other two present boys.  
  
Heero shrugged while Trowa answered: "In the hall."  
  
"Why? His lunch is growing cold," Quatre said, eyeing the over heaped plate of food at Wufei's place. He didn't want to waste the food and hoped the Chinese boy wouldn't be too angry with his plate looking like a mountain compared to Trowa's and Heero's generous servings of "hill tops".  
  
'He could do with a little more weight anyway,' Quatre thought desperately, trying to push away the little guilt blossoming in his head now. 'He's so thin!'  
  
Heero looked a bit sick but he was cramming in every bit of food into his mouth. Trowa, on the other hand, didn't seem to have any trouble polishing off his last grain of food.  
  
"He's trying to out glare the girl," came Trowa's quiet answer.  
  
  
  
  
  
AN: Here you guys are! Hope you guys enjoyed reading it. See ya soon! :] 


	13. Oh dear

AN: Ok! I'm back and ready to roll with my writing. Oh dear... I have a test tomrrow actually and I'm procrastinating. (It means delaying doing something and for me, it's studying...) Well, on with the dedications!  
  
This chapter goes out to: Green Jade, Misori-chan, Kuria, Solus Nox, The Story That Never Was (I hope you give me a pen name to write, feels like I'm double dedicating to myself! :]), Nameless Warrior of Darkness, shellie, Tidgy-Pud, Silent Fear, and Nikoyru Kaoru! It also goes out to our new member in the reviewer family: Kuso-chaN! Yehhhhhh! Welcome! Thanks to all for reviewing, I appreciate it very much! :]  
  
A special thanks to a sweet reviewer who wrote an email to me instead: Demona Wildcat! Thank you!  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
  
  
Chapter 13  
  
½ an hour later...  
  
"I'll stop if you stop first," Wufei offered.  
  
"Fat chance!" the girl answered, face equally as stony as his.  
  
Wufei could feel his facial muscles stretch taut across his face with the continuous grueling effort to keep his "death glare" on. Never, had he in his whole life, had to freeze his face into perpetual glaring mode! At least with the enemy, all he had to do was not smile.  
  
'Maybe sometimes show contempt, but never this!' he thought bitterly, trying to ignore the insistent ache in his face muscles. At times like this, he also wished his face was chiseled in stone; it would have been MUCH easier.  
  
"Stop. It. Now." Wufei was getting really annoyed.  
  
"You. Do. It." The girl was equally pissed off.  
  
"Fine. On the count of three," Wufei relent, his facial muscles screaming for release. "One, Two... Three!" Nothing happened. Both the girl and his face remained frozen in their fierce masks.  
  
A moment of silence took over.  
  
"I think we got a problem...," the girl said.  
  
***  
  
Trowa looked at Quatre eying the huge plate of food across from him.  
  
"Look..." he started.  
  
"His food is growing cold," Quatre winced, obviously not listening.  
  
"I know and..." Trowa tried to continue but Quatre cut him short.  
  
"I cooked so hard and learned how to make that the LAST TIME we were at my HOME and..."  
  
"WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN??!!!?"  
  
Quatre's mouth immediately closed shut.  
  
Trowa sighed and looked Quatre in the eye. "I know you put a lot of effort in that dish and the time it took you to cook it...," Trowa then eyed Wufei's portion of food on the table which resembled distinctively like a miniature mountain, "So when he's hungry, he'll come back and eat it," Trowa finished.  
  
'Like real,' a small voice in Trowa's mind whispered as he watched Quatre's face change from a worried look to a hopeful one. 'You had trouble finishing your share. What makes you think that Wufei, SKINNEST of you guys, can finish his???!' it questioned.  
  
'Shut up!' he growled mentally to the small voice in his head, 'would you rather have a super-worried Quatre on your hands?!?"  
  
The tiny little voice did not answer.  
  
***  
  
Sally Po, in all her life, had seen problems more gruesome than this. Broken bones jutting out of flesh, body parts lobbed off and needing to be reattached, grinning open skulls, near death experience cases..., you name it, she's done it. All except this one.  
  
It all started when a series of poundings started on her door, breaking her concentration on her work. There was a bellow: "Ni Ren! Kai Men ah!" (Woman! Open door!) and then a loud * whack! *, which was then followed by some cursing from Wufei, which sounded pretty much like a cross between Chinese and Japanese Curses. Way too vehement to remember, before another * Pow! * * Crash! * was heard. Then a stream of Chinese curses followed, this time said in another person's voice.  
  
'There's someone who can speak Chinese like Wufei too?!?' Sally thought, amazed as she got of her chair hurriedly to open the door. Nothing prepared her for what she was about to see.  
  
Upon opening the door, Sally had a very bad fright. For a moment, she thought Wufei had somehow, through some freak accident, managed to spilt himself into two. Either that or clone himself. And as if one wasn't bad enough, she was getting TWO, PERFECTLY IDENTICAL, cold, analytical Wufei's glares at her. One of them was cornered against the wall holding his head, the other had looked over her shoulder to look at her.  
  
'Wait a minute! Her?' Sally's eyes did a double take of the person cornering the first. Jess continued to glare at her coldly but when she spoke, her tone was gentle, totally unfitting with the angry, cold, glare she had on her face.  
  
It took a while for Sally to get the drift of the situation. However, having to face two, angry-looking, Wufei-like glares was unnerving.  
  
'Hell, it's more unsettling than when I had to perform my first surgery!' Sally thought with a grimace as she shifted in her chair for the umpteen time. The hairs on her chest wouldn't go down. 'I can understand why no one wants to be the focus of Wufei's anger, his glare is enough to kill a horse!' Then she shuddered to think of the situation in which someone was Wufei's love of his life. That boy has a one-track mind.  
  
She hurriedly turned back to her computer when Jess finished her story. Unfortunately, as the tightness in her chest faded, the hairs on her back began to prickle with uneasiness. It took all her will power to keep her voice calm in addressing them, without running and screaming in the opposite direction.  
  
"I can't prescribe any medicine for this case cause the muscles in these situations would relax after sometime. You guys haven't got muscle lock yet but that's close to it. So my suggestion is you better do things which are... less stressful to you. Sleeping is an option, doing things that helps you relax is a good method. But DON'T go GLARING during the next hour, you might get muscle lock." Sally let the threat hang in the air for a moment. "It would mean surgery if you do."  
  
Both youngsters swallowed nervously and nodded.  
  
  
  
Author's Proclamation: O.O What's going to happen? Find out in the next chapter! Bha hahahhaha!  
  
Sister: She needs help. (secretly dials for the ambulance, evil grin on her face.) 


	14. Double vision

AN: HELLO!!!! It's almost midnight and I'm typing this chapter out! But hey, it's the only free time I have to write... :_ no choice... Sigh, wish I got more time but hey, when you're juggling with school work, club activities, working and writing, I'll say my days are really filled! Not to mention homework and exams...  
  
Ok! Dedications, dedications! This chapter goes out to: Shellie, Silent Fear, Cloud aka Zero, Kuso-chaN and misori-chan.  
  
Oh! What's this??! Two newcomers! :] Well, technically, one's new and the other I should know by another name. ANYWAY! WELCOME: Herald Mistylenna and demon lover! (Waves hi to the both of them then points at demon lover) YOU! Thanks for all your reviews! :] I'm truly appreciative! Same goes to all my reviewers who are so sweet too!  
  
HAPPY HOLIDAYS & MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
  
  
Chapter 14  
  
Duo happily skipped down the passage on his way to the Gundam Robots' Hanger. Shinigami was looking a bit dented from his last fight and needed some spare parts to replace those damaged.  
  
Turning around the corner, he bumped into Wufei.  
  
"Hey there, Wu-man!" the boy chirpily greeted the Chinese co-pilot. The Chinese pilot turned a ferocious glare at him and "humph!", before stalking away.  
  
"HEY! What's the matter?!? Ain't you glad to see me out of my room?!" he shouted after the Chinese boy retreating back. No response.  
  
"Must have got up of the wrong side of bed today," he muttered to himself before whistling a tune and continuing down the passage. No sooner had he walked 5 steps, Wufei passed him again, in the same direction, wearing the same ferocious glare.  
  
"Hello, Duo," Wufei greeted him.  
  
"Hello, Wu-man!" Duo greeted him back without breaking pace.  
  
Duo continued whistling the next few bars of notes before something went * click * in his brain. The whistling stopped. So did his walking.  
  
'Hey, wait a minute..,' he thought as he spurn as fast as he could on his feet to take another look at the Wufei that went past him. Unfortunately, the Wufei had disappeared.  
  
'Did I just hallucinated Wufei in a dress?!?' Duo thought, horrified. 'Oh my God... I must be catching something! I'm hallucinating Wufei in a DRESS!!' Then looking up, Duo shouted: "Sally!" and stared running for her room.  
  
***  
  
Quatre was pacing up and down the passageway, wringing his hands with anxiety.  
  
"His lunch is COLD now. WHERE is he?" he muttered to himself as he passed the kitchen doorway for the eighth time. Trowa had disappeared to his room, tired of trying to convince him that the Chinese boy would show up later. Rounding the corner, Quatre bumped into the Chinese pilot.  
  
"Where have you been?!?!!" the Arab pilot yelled at him. That got him a VERY cold glare from the Chinese boy.  
  
Quatre immediately swallowed up any words he wanted to throw at the boy.  
  
  
  
Still fixing his stony glare at the Arab co-pilot, Wufei moved into the kitchen... And stopped dead in his tracks.  
  
"What is this?" he asked calmly, pointing at the huge pile of food piled on top of his plate. At least he assumed was his plate. Only the rim of the plate was visible, the rest was covered with food, piled high till the top was at least half a meter away from the table.  
  
"Uhhh... Lunch?" Quatre asked, feeling a bit small under the cold glare he was receiving.  
  
The Chinese pilot turned, took his place at the table, and started eating. While scowling. Quatre heaved a sigh of relief and walked out of the kitchen.  
  
***  
  
Trowa was going to his room when he bumped into Wufei, walking past him in the direction of Jess's room.  
  
'Wonder what bone he has to pick with her...' Trowa thought as he watched the pilot disappear round the corner. 'He looks mad enough to struggle her.'  
  
Then, deciding to let sleeping wolves lie, he pressed the button on his door, and waited for the scanner to finish its job and release the lock. As his door slid quietly open, Quatre came rounding past the corner of the passage Wufei had appeared from, looking extremely satisfied.  
  
"Must have eaten your lunch finished, eh?" he asked the Arab co-pilot quietly, taking a step into his room.  
  
"Yep! He is eating my lunch now. Why? What's wrong?" Quatre asked, looking concerned into Trowa's face, which had suddenly turned stonier, if such a thing was possible.  
  
"Sorry..." The German pilot apologized, "I must have heard wrong. I thought you said he is eating lunch now."  
  
"Yeah..., that's what I said," the Arab pilot confirmed, his own face showing his confusion. "Why?"  
  
Trowa blinked. 'How is that possible...?'  
  
"I saw Wufei walked by a minute ago...," he tried to argue.  
  
"Impossible!" his co-pilot returned, "I was talking to him in the kitchen just a minute ago. And when I left, he was still eating. There is no way he could have passed by here before me, without me seeing him. I think you need to see Sally."  
  
A moment of silence fell as Trowa searched his memory on Wufei's image walking past him. 'Hmmm... Ferocious glare..., the normal stalking walk..., dress swaying as he walked..., hair in ponytail..., wait a minute! DRESS??!?!'  
  
Trowa stopped thinking and did an initial body check with his mind. 'Nope, nothing. Perhaps I do need a doctor's expertise...' Turning to Quatre, he answered in one word: "Sally."  
  
***  
  
Heero was in the Gundam Hanger, repairing Wing Zero.  
  
"Damn those OZ men. They blew a hole in Wing's arm..." He muttered to himself, looking at the mass of burnt wires and melted metal from the cockpit platform.  
  
'But there's work involve...,' his mind whispered tantalizingly.  
  
Heero's eyes gleamed as he surveyed the damage done to his robot. Then his mind clicked into perfect soldier mode, listing the various components and tools needed to repair the arm. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wufei enter the hanger. Heero continued to check and examine his robot's damage, feeling totally at ease in Wufei's presence. It was the sound of something metal scrapping across the ground that dragged his attention away from his precious robot. Wufei was dragging his ladder away.  
  
"Make sure you return that or I'll be stuck," he called as Wufei disappeared out of the door, dragging the ladder with him.  
  
As he turned back to examine his robot again, Wufei re-entered the room, this time from the door on the other side of the hanger. Heero's suspicion went on high alert and he glared at Wufei. Wufei returned his glare perfectly.  
  
"What, Yui?" the Chinese pilot asked in a neutral voice.  
  
"Where's my ladder?" Heero asked stonily.  
  
"What ladder?" Wufei asked, face this time registering surprise even though his face was somewhat fixed in a half glare.  
  
"What's with your face?" the Japanese pilot enquired, this time feeling more curious about the expression on the Chinese pilot's face than his ladder.  
  
"Some sort of muscle-lock," the Chinese pilot answered before turning his attention to his robot Nataku.  
  
"Hn." Came Heero's answer before he jumped 5 feet to the ground, landing in a crouch, and running out the door, in search of Doctor G and Sally.  
  
***  
  
"So let me get this straight. And Maxwell... DON'T INTERUPT!" Sally said, glaring at the hyper-talkative pilot, now sitted beside her. Trowa and Quatre were standing in front of her; Trowa's arms were folded, waiting patiently for her to explain and Quatre was standing beside him, looking very worried. As she opened her mouth, the door burst opened.  
  
"Sally! You won't believe what Heero told me!" Doctor G gushed out, his hand holding onto a rather windblown looking Heero. Obviously he had dragged Heero all the way to Sally's office.  
  
"Let me guess," Sally answered with a sigh, "You guys saw Wufei doing impossible "appearing" acts, apparently appearing to have spilt himself into two, leading to the conclusion that there are now 2 Wufeis on board this ship, am I right?" Sally finished her analysis in one breath. 5 heads nodded in union at her.  
  
"And one look NORMAL while the other is wearing a DRESS," Sally continued, furthering her point. 5 heads nodded at her again.  
  
"So the truth is what you saw was Jess and Wufei, coincidently appearing one after the other in front of you," Sally finished, looking expectantly in her audience faces. A moment of silence followed her answer.  
  
"You don't know the answer, do you?" Maxwell concluded while the rest continued to stare at her like she had just lost her mind. Sally considered STRANGLING Maxwell.  
  
  
  
Author's Proclamation: O.o This chapter took longer to post up because of the things I mentioned above. (Check upstairs, if you didn't read.) Ummmm... A little confession: Wufei's actually my favorite character, so I'll be bring in his history in two chapters time. Maybe it'll change your mind a little... (Hopeful look) Meanwhile, enjoy the fic! :] 


	15. Catastrophe in disguise

AN: Hi there people! Here a really good chapter. I'm sure this will keep you laughing in your seats! :] But first: Dedications.  
  
  
  
This chapter goes out to: Herald Mistylenna, Silent Fear, Cloud, Silver Magiccraft, Kuria, Misori-chan and Cassie-bear01! (It's great to see you all still reading my fic and loving it. :])  
  
As for the new readers: Hi there Luna of Um, soulwith wings and Death's little side kick! Welcome to the family of reviewers! Glad my reader's circle is growing wider. :]  
  
Now on with the fic. And yes Nanako: I corrected the BOO BOO! :D  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 15  
  
The telecom rang over Wufei's head, asking for both him and Jess to proceed to the doctor's room IMMEDIATELY. Hmmm. wonder why that woman want to see us, he thought as he laid his tools aside and made his way to Sally's room. Must want some sample of blood or checking the muscles on our faces again. How bothersome women are, he thought, almost scowling his face up before remembering he was forbidden to do that for at least an hour. Make that two hours, as he thought further.  
  
Turning round the corner, he bumped into Jess.  
  
'Great! Another imp!' he thought, rolling his eyes skyward while keeping an effort to ensure his face remain netural.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" he enquired in a quiet calm voice.  
  
"The doctor's room. Duh!" Jess replied curtly.  
  
Interesting situation. Tell Jess she's going the wrong way or not? Wufei mused over the thought of the girl turning up at the doctor's room a day late.  
  
"Yeah well, tell Sally.I'll got things to do, won't be there so soon," he answered, turning on his heel so fast he nearly fell, and proceeded down the corridor faster than all his life, before a burst of laughter broke forth from his lips.  
  
'Weird guy . . .' Jess thought as she continued down the passage to Sally's room, at least what she believed was the direction.  
  
Sally rubbed her forehead. Whoever thought that Maxwell was an innocent, harmless cute little teenager, would need to have his or her head checked. The non-stop talking, itchy fingers and 'constantly in motion' teenager, should come with a warning plastered on his forehead, in BIG, RED letters saying: "DANGEROUS!"  
  
And that same teenager was wreaking her clinic cum room.  
  
CLANG!  
  
"Opps! Sorry." came the most AWFULLY familiar voice of the last 15 minutes he had been in the clinic, rang out again. Sally could feel her eyebrow twitch in irritation. Her hands were just dying to grab something and squeeze REAL HARD. Something like mainly Duo MAXWELL'S NECK. Her clinic/room, once sparklingly clean, now bore the remains of broken test tubes, puddles of chemicals all over the floor, which started the fire earlier when the chemicals combusted, and a hole in the floor. To top it off, in the middle, the floor was black where the fire had started.  
  
'WUFEI! Where the Hell are you? And you BETTER have Jess with you when you appear!' Sally thought desperately as she watch Duo pick up a glass tube filled with camphor, then grabbed another filled with green liquid, and poured it in. " NO! DUO..!"  
  
* POW! *  
  
"OPPS! I'm really sorry about that." came Duo's voice again.  
  
"You are not sorry! You keeping smashing up my things or blowing them up with fire over and over again! You are sincerely NOT SORRY!" Sally flared up, finally releasing the pent up anger that had been building up since Duo's arrival. "Hmmm.. HEY! You're right. So, can I be allowed to hack into your computer now?" the teenager asked, giving the 'wide eye, innocent, violet stare' look.  
  
Sally buried her face in her hands. 'Where are you guys?!'  
  
* Bang! *  
  
The door opened and Wufei stood in the middle of the doorway, looking like a beacon in Sally's eyes. [Serene music drifted in the air, heard by Sally]  
  
"What you want, woman," came a bored Wufei's voice. [The music went bad] "Nothing. Just needed Jess and you to prove that there are no two Wufei persons prowling on the ship now. You do have Jess, don't you?"  
  
"Ha! That girl has no sense of direction. She went the opposite way, while trying to find your room." Wufei replied, smirking and looking very smudge.  
  
"And you didn't try to bring her here?" Sally asked, feeling her eyebrow starting to twitch in irritation again.  
  
"What for. Waste of breath only." [The music stopped] The other gundam pilots began to back away from Sally. She was beginning to radiate heat waves.  
  
"So.. after enduring Duo for the last 20 minutes, getting my room wreaked and burned. THIS is the RESULT I GET?" Sally rose from her seat and started approaching Wufei menacingly.  
  
Wufei could feel the hairs on his neck stand. For some reason, Sally looked bigger, meaner and definitely angrier than her usual self. "You have BETTER get Jess RIGHT NOW, or SOMEBODY dies tonight." Sally spoke, her voice now low and threatening. The usual reply of "why should I?" stuck in Wufei's throat. Unconsciously, he began to back away into the hallway, away from the door. "I give you five minutes, or else." Sally let the threat hang in the air before slamming the door in Wufei's face.  
  
Stalking back to her seat, she gave everyone of them her coldest stare, including Doctor G.  
  
No one said a word for the next few minutes.  
  
The silence, however, was broken by Duo. " Can I go to toilet?" Sally groaned into her hands.  
  
  
  
Author's Proclamation: I see that the next chapter is the bringing in of Wufei's history! Yehhhhh! Because I like the guy and it fun to sabo the guy . . . Nice to know that Quatre's your favorite Kuria, he reminds me a sweet, adorable little brother! 


	16. Recallation

AN: Hey people! Sorry for posting this up so LATE!!!! I was busy with so much things! Chinese New Year shopping and such! So sorry this chapter is posted up late but hey, it's a good chapter!  
  
I like to dedicate this chapter to all my wonderful readers and reviewers out there: Cassie-bear01, Silent Fear, Herald Mistylenna, Cloud, Kuria, Joanna, Shellie and Eria! And we have a new reviewer in our family too! Welcome kalika55! * Appluse * Hope you will enjoy the chapters to come! :]  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Wufei's history does NOT belong to me! I just added stuff and spice to get it's history to link in my story. Basically, the 90% of the storyline belong to the author of 'Gundam Wing', so please don't sue me!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 15  
  
Racing down the corridor after Jess, Wufei cursed Jess under his breath.  
  
"Damn! Women are so troublesome. But then. . . maybe not all. . ."  
  
[Flashback]  
  
Wufei quickly looked around. He'll be dead if anyone found him skipping martial arts practice for the pursuit of scholarly knowledge. Even at 7 years old, his interest in books is so intense that he couldn't put any book down until he had read it from cover to cover.  
  
Currently, his interest lies in the "Detailed History of China". While many youngsters his age are diligently learning martial arts since it proved to them more entertaining than school work, Wufei apparently found it the other way. Not that it is bad or anything, it is just his luck to be born in a society where merit is counted more on skills than brains. He blamed it on his father's genes.  
  
Looking at the thick book in his lap, Wufei felt a familiar course of excitement rush through him the way other kids would feel about learning a new skill in martial arts. If he was lucky, he'll have the whole afternoon to read half the book at least, before the sun goes down.  
  
Wufei surveyed his surroundings again to make sure he was alone. Nothing but flowers surrounding him waved their delicate petals at him as a gentle wind coursed through the field. Gingerly, he thumbed opened the book he had successfully stolen out of his father's library and started reading. "Time and tide wait for no man," was what his father always said to him.  
  
A small crack after the third or forth page brought him sharply out of his reading. Wufei quickly looked up and found himself staring into a pair of irritated-looking eyes.  
  
'Oh great. . .' Wufei thought, his eyes now taking in a very angry cupid face staring daggers at him.  
  
The girl's foot in front of him began to tap.  
  
'Her,' he continued the thought before closing his book with resignation.  
  
"Shi fu (Teacher) sent me to look for you," the girl said in a very icy voice. She was obviously pissed with him. Wufei kept silent to that comment.  
  
"You are VERY hard to find," she stressed, continuing her sentence. That still didn't get her an answer.  
  
"I BELIEVE you can start by saying SORRY," she hinted strongly. Wufei rolled his eyes. He BELIEVES this girl lacked brains. Quietly, he got up, dusted his butt and strolled away with the book under his arm. He believed that when one does not have brains, especially a female, they are not worthy of an apology. But he had to admit, the girl's attitude was fairly. . . entertaining.  
  
  
  
Turning round the corner, Wufei ran into Jess. "Follow me now. Sally's waiting." Wufei dropped the iron curtain over his face.  
  
Jess gave him a blank stare before the truth finally dawned on her. "You . . . ! You were actually going to the doctor's room and you knew I was going in the wrong direction! Of all the dirty tricks to do . . ."  
  
"Yeah, well, we don't have time. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Your choice." Wufei interrupted, well aware of precious time ticking away. Jess looked like she wanted to argue some more, but seemed to think the better of it and followed him quietly for the rest of the way back to the doctor's room.  
  
Jess's sudden quiet attitude brought back another flashback of what happened on the trip back to the martial arts dojo...  
  
  
  
[Flashback 2]  
  
The girl was still staring daggers into his back, even though they have been walking for half an hour. It was getting on his nerves.  
  
It had been no surprise he didn't discover her presence till she was in front of him. The first reason was that he had been totally absorbed in the book. The second and not really important reason was that she was the best student in the class. Wufei had never dueled with her in any of the practices. The Master didn't see it fit to pit him against her, since he never bothered to put his heart into his lessons or fighting techniques. He was also the most delinquent one when it came to missing classes. And now her pissed off, silent attitude was getting on his nerves.  
  
'So what if she's missing a few lessons?!' Wufei fumed, 'Not like she's gonna drop from top position.'  
  
"You," he addressed her, turning to face her. The girl had been walking behind him to ensure he didn't escape from her sight.  
  
The girl stopped in front of him, staring him straight in the eye. Wufei cursed his luck again to have to deal with a girl his height. Obviously he hadn't been growing fast enough and the girl was growing too fast. A few more centimeters and she'll be hovering over him.  
  
"How did you find me?" he curtly asked. The girl was now pissing him off with her attitude. The girl remained silent. Wufei compared her looks to the old prune of a teacher in his math class and decided he liked the old prune better. At least she taught him something useful. The girl in front of him looked ready to kick him. "Look, you can sulk all you want, but I'm not interested in going back to the dojo. I want to read this book, not beat up some stupid, immobile dummy," he said to her, half praying she would take it and leave him. She continued to stare him in the eye.  
  
"You can take that excuse and tell that to master, I'm sure he'll understand," he continued, feeling his nerves now stretching taut under her stare. The girl still didn't respond.  
  
"That does it! You don't want to say anything, then so be it! You can stare for all I care. I'm staying here and reading under this nice tree!" Wufei stormed away, marching towards the tree by the roadside and settling himself under it, pulling the book out from under his arm and opening it to read. What he didn't expect WAS the answer from her.  
  
"I combed the other areas before. You were there the other times," she spoke, catching him off balance.  
  
"Par . . . Pardon?!?" Wufei asked, disbelieving his ears.  
  
"Look! Master made me go search for you every time you did your STUPID disappearing acts! It's always: "Meiran! Go find Wufei!" or "Meiran! Go look for that stupid boy!" or "Meiran! Any idea where that BOY went?" I have better things to do, you know! I don't want to keep on trampling around the countryside just LOOKING for you!" she shouted, face flushed from both her anger and effort in getting her point across to, no doubt, the guy with a thick head.  
  
"Well, exccuuuuuse me! I'm not the one so stupid as to follow every instruction given to me. You could have turned Master down," Wufei retorted.  
  
"As much as I like to, he's my GRANDDAD. You try turning down YOUR Granddad's instruction and see what your Ah Pa (Dad) will do!" the girl returned his retort perfectly.  
  
"Your luck for being born into such a family," Wufei answered, turning his attention back to the book in his lap. Really. If she had been a gentle, sweet girl like his mom, he'll probably feel some sympathy for her.  
  
'Hell, I'll probably indulge her and go back to the dojo. Probably.' he thought, a tiny smile starting at one corner of his mouth  
  
"How dare you...!" she began and stopped, her eyes falling on his book. "Give me that book! It's been the source of all my trouble!"  
  
"Correction. It's been ONE of the sources of your trouble," Wufei corrected calmly, closing the book quickly and sitting on it as the girl made a swipe for it.  
  
Of course no one found out about the end result of the struggle between him and Meiran. Being heavier, Wufei was naturally able to keep the book under his butt the whole time the girl pushed and pulled, in her effort to remove his body from the book. It was evening by the time she gave up.  
  
"You..." she panted, breathing hard as she lay on the ground in front of him.  
  
Wufei gave her his best serene look and asked calmly: "Yes?" Truth was his butt felt like it was on fire and his legs had long cramped up from his gallant effort in sitting cross-legged on top of the book. He wasn't even sure if he could stand up properly once the girl was gone. Already, his feet felt numb, and pins and needles coursed through his entire leg.  
  
"You can miss martial arts practice for all I care!" she gasped out as she slowly picked herself off the ground. Her clothes were now covered in dirt and dust.  
  
"Good. I can see you have some common sense at least," Wufei answered, refusing to move. He was certain his legs were in a state where they wouldn't hold him, and his face was likely to end up in dirt.  
  
"I pity your future wife," she retorted, fixing him with a fierce glare.  
  
"I PITY your future husband," he retorted back perfectly without hesitating.  
  
"You're a nerd, four eyes. You'll go bald by thirty."  
  
"And you're a dumb, unruly girl. What you do to your ponytails? Put starch in them?" he returned without batting an eyelid.  
  
"I HOPE you aren't my future husband."  
  
"Well that makes two of us."  
  
"I'll kill myself if that happens!" the girl argued fiercely.  
  
"Don't worry. I don't think MY luck is that bad," he returned calmly.  
  
The girl threw one more angry glare at him before stomping off towards the village. Wufei sighed. His wonderful afternoon was gone and he had only a few more precious minutes of light to get up and return home before dark.  
  
'Oh well. Can't say the afternoon's been totally wasted,' he thought, his brain going through all the ways of getting him home without wasting any more time.  
  
'It's been entertaining though,' he finished with a tiny smile. 'Now. How do I GET up?'  
  
  
  
Upon reaching Sally's door, Wufei gave the door a sharp rap. "Come in," Sally's voice practically growled. On opening the door, quite a sight greeted his eyes.  
  
Duo was tied to Sally's chair, Quatre and Trowa were hurdling together in one corner, trying to be as far away from Sally as possible, and Doctor G was trying to mop up the chemical mess on the floor. Only Heero was looking rather normal, perched on the windowsill and looking out into space, while Sally. she looked as if she was a time bomb just waiting to explode.  
  
"She's here. What is it?" Wufei asked, trying to look normal. Sally looked up and the insides of Wufei squirmed. If anything could describe the expression on Sally's face right now, it was 'sinister'. Duo looked rather panicky when he saw that expression, while everyone around Sally tensed up.  
  
"I want you both to scowl," she said.  
  
"Huh?" said both Jess and Wufei together.  
  
"We can't. It's not over an hour yet." Wufei answered.  
  
At the same time, Jess asked: "What kind of an instruction is that?"  
  
Sally started moving towards them. The air was thick with silence, allowing the crunch of broken glass being stepped on by Sally's advancing to sound clearly in the stillness.  
  
"Do..It..now," she said in a really calm voice, making her seem all the more scary.  
  
Both he and Jess did exactly as they were told.  
  
Author's Proclamation: O.o ! More exciting chapters to come! Hope this little chapter have been entertaining for you! :] And to all Wufei haters, hope this may change your perspective of the boy. But I must admit, it's damn fun to poke fun of him! He's just sooooo. . . the kind of guy you want to make fun of. Hee hee . . . o^ ^o 


	17. History begins

AN: Ok people! Just a few words. This chapter, sadly, have no G-boys in it except the history of Wufei. But I can promise you it's a rather interesting chapter, especially on the fighting part. I like that part. :] But not to worry, G-boy will resume in the next chapter!  
  
I would like to dedicate this chapter to: Herald Mistylenna, Cloud, Dream Keeper, Kuria, Silent Fear, Death's little side kick, soulwithwings and Solus Nox! Wow, you guys are going strong! Thanks! I see three new reviewers: Chara, Yukito chick and Kalorna Enera! Yeehhhh! I'm sooooo happy to see people enjoying my stories! :]  
  
Now on with the fic! :]  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 17  
  
Wufei lay alone in bed that night, thinking about Meiran. 'It's been quite a few years since I last thought of our past. Wonder why now? Meiran been dead for almost a year, why doesn't the pain lessen? Why can't I forget her . . .? Ma, Pa, I wish you were here to answer my questions, I miss you so . . .'  
  
[Flashback]  
  
"Marriage?!! What do you mean by marriage?!!!" Wufei shouted, jumping up from his seat. His father calmly surveyed him from opposite the dining table while his mother set a plate of food down in front of him.  
  
"Seat down and eat," his mother said, gently pushing him back into the seat. Wufei sat but refused to touch the food in front of him.  
  
"Don't act so surprised," his father replied, picking up his chopsticks. "It's not like you don't know the tradition."  
  
"Yes, but you're deciding something big for the future. MINE future! I'm only 14!"  
  
"Get use to it son. I went through the same thing with your mother and look where it got me? A loving wife and a SON to carry on our family's bloodline and namesake," his calmly answered, puffing out his chest a little before attacking the plate of chicken in the middle of the small round dining table.  
  
"Yes. I know. But how do I know the girl I get is like mother? What if I don't like her? What if SHE doesn't like me? What if . . ."  
  
"You don't eat your food? You'll get a spanking from me, that's what," his father interrupted, focusing his eyes on Wufei. Then, the eyes took on a softer quality.  
  
"I had the same doubts as you when I heard I was to marry at your age. Hell, I even tried to run away!" his father grinned at the memory. " But I can tell you frankly, love takes time to grow. You can't push it. And when you're bound to someone, even if you're not in love at first, love will eventually grow between the two of you."  
  
Wufei watched as his father put down his chopsticks and took his mother's hands. Both parents looked into each other eyes.  
  
"And you know what?" his father asked without breaking eye contact with his mother. Wufei kept silent. He didn't know what to say.  
  
"That kind of love is the most binding and truest love you can ever get," his father finally answered after a long pause. Wufei looked away. He felt uncomfortable watching his parents acting and talking like that.  
  
"BUT, you yourself must stay true and faithful to your wife. As the strong support the weak, so shall a husband to his wife."  
  
With that, his father once again focused his attention on him. Wufei looked at his father's face. It was serious.  
  
"Remember son, to support a wife doesn't mean financially. It also means that you have the duty to protect her, keep her safe and secure both emotionally and physically. Only then will love and happiness blossom between you two. If you're a good and true husband to her, she will be both a good and true wife to you, and a great mother to your children.  
  
Wufei said nothing.  
  
"Ni zi dao ma?" ("You got it?") his father asked, no hint of laughter in his tone or anything to indicate he wasn't serious.  
  
Wufei swallowed nervously and nodded as seriously as he could.  
  
"Good!" his father boomed out happily, then picked up his chopsticks again.  
  
"I have only one question," Wufei spoke, watching his father attack the salted vegetables in front of him.  
  
"What?"  
  
"If you tried to run away, how come it wasn't successful?" Wufei asked, cocking a quizzical eyebrow at his father.  
  
"Too many books. Forgot the money," his mother answered for his father, trying to hide her smile behind her spoon. His father started viciously stuffing rice and salted vegetables into his mouth.  
  
  
  
  
  
'Three days later, the 'huang he' (yellow river) broke it dams. Ah Pa was made to go since he was the military strategist and his expanse of knowledge was known throughout our nation. Ma went with him to be the military cook.' Wufei took out the old wallet from his secret pocket, opened it and looked at the picture in it. 'That's how it all started. That's how I met her again.'  
  
  
  
[Flashback]  
  
"Let me go! I want to see my Pa and Ma!" Wufei shouted as he struggled against the two pair of hands that restrained him from dashing out of the dojo where he had promised his parents to go train when school was over. His Pa had arranged it so Grand Master will look after him while he was gone.  
  
"Wufei! Stop it! You will hurt yourself!" Shi Fu (teacher) pleaded, trying his best to restraint the young boy without hurting him too much. Wufei ignored his Shi Fu pleads. He needed to go see his parents.  
  
'The elders must have lied. My parents couldn't have met their deaths that way. It's just too absurb! Ma and Pa are all right!' Wufei desperately thought as he struggled with all his might against the hands that held him back in the dojo he detested. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the five elders sitting to the side of him, against the dojo wall. He didn't like the way they looked now. They look like rats and snakes to him.  
  
Then one of the elders, oldest of the lot, got up and proceeded to stand in front of him. Wufei renewed his efforts to escape and get at the old loot that said his parents were dead.  
  
"Wufei, that's enough!" his Shi Fu shouted at him. Wufei could see his Shi Fu was at his strength's limit in restraining him. Wufei gave a tiny smile. He wasn't even tired yet. He decided to put into good use all the fighting techniques he had seen and been taught before. He started with the 'Shen Ti Pian'.  
  
Wufei could never forget the surprise on his Shi Fu's face that day. He whipped up his hand in the direction of his Shi Fu's face, distracting him, forcing him to move his face up, before using his left leg to whip his Shi Fu's legs out from under him. That left him with one less hindrance to deal with.  
  
"What the . . ." his Shi Fu apprentice began but didn't get far as Wufei hit him in the stomach with the 'San Zi Xin' three finger technique which would cause immerse pain to the heart and lungs through the peripherals blood vessels with one proper blow. The apprentice crumbled like a broken wall without further sound.  
  
Then Wufei turned to the elder in front of him. This was the moment he could exact his revenge for such lies. Wufei placed all his strength into his legs and jumped, the formation for 'Chi Ge Xing' at his fingertips when a blow to his stomach stopped him cold. The old elder had used his walking stick to strike a blow to his stomach while using the technique 'San Zi Xin'. Immerse pain exploded through his body, immobilizing him with pain as he lay grouched on the floor clutching his stomach and chest, where breathing was now difficult and painful.  
  
The elder stood over him, leaning on the terrible walking stick, watching him with calculating eyes. His Shi Fu was now getting up slowly, having recovered all his breath from the fall he took from his pupil.  
  
"So . . . is this the delinquent student you were talking about, the Wufei that misses classes so often that it is like he is never here at all?" the elder asked his Shi Fu. His Shi Fu nodded his head.  
  
"Sure doesn't look that way to me," the elder continued, looking at Wufei. "For many, many years, no one have ever scratched me like this child have . . ." Many gasps filled the room for everyone in the room were shocked. Wufei couldn't understand why but despite his pain, he felt a tiny triumph in his heart. He could see the scratch on the elder's cheek he made before succumbing to the pain, and the tiny trickle of blood that was now making its way down that same cheek.  
  
"I go get some water and bandages immediately, Elder!" his Shi Fu desperately said, moving towards the door that led to the inner rooms of the dojo.  
  
"There is no need for that," the elder said, halting Wufei's Shi Fu in his tracks. "I kind of like the souvenir. Tell me, how many lessons did you take to teach the boy the 'San Zi Xin', 'Shen Ti Pian' and 'Chi Ge Xing' techniques? It takes at least six lessons to master 'Shen Ti Pian' perfectly, which is the easiest and eigthteen for 'Chi Ge Xing', which is the hardest.  
  
Silence followed the comment. No one dared to answer.  
  
"Well?" the elder demanded. Wufei allowed a tiny smirk to appear on his mouth.  
  
"Just one lesson on each, Elder. And he only saw, he never practiced it."  
  
Wufei watched as the elder looked down at him in shock.  
  
'In your face, old man!' was the last thought he had before succumbing to darkness and the relief it brought with it from the pain.  
  
  
  
'The next time I gained consciousness, I was in the back of a car, the Elder looking down at me from his seat next to my side,' Wufei thought as he closed the wallet, then tucked it back into the secret pocket. 'I never knew how long I was out cold but when I saw the Elder again, he was looking at me, with kinder eyes . . .'  
  
  
  
[Flashback]  
  
"Ahhh . . . xiao hai xing le,"("Ahhh . . . the child awakes,") the Elder said, smiling into his face. "Shui de hao ma?"("Slept well?")  
  
Wufei quickly bolted upright but that brought about a sharp pain to his stomach. He bit his inner lip to stop a cry of pain from escaping but was unable to stop his body from automatically curling up to prevent more pain.  
  
"Careful. It takes more than a few days for a person to fully recover from the 'San Zi Xing' and you're already moving," the Elder said to him, then whispered: "Good. You're a fast healer and learner." Wufei didn't like the last comment. It set his suspicions on high.  
  
"Wo men qu le na li?" ("Where are we going?") he asked with caution. He didn't trust this man very much.  
  
"To the dams," the old man replied, a hard glint appearing in his eye. "You want to see your parents, I'll take you to them.  
  
Ten minutes later, Wufei allowed the Elder to lead him back into the car. The bodies lying in the stretcher confirmed it so. The clothes on them, the IDs they carried were evidence of who they were. Even despite their hideous and deformed bloated bodies, Wufei could see it was still them, and now after seeing this, Wufei's mind was in a swirl as many emotions riot within him.  
  
"Now, do not despair," the Elder said to him but Wufei wasn't listening to him, much less understanding what the Elder was trying to say to him. The elder took him by the shoulders and gave him a little shake.  
  
"Do not despair, they are heroes, saviors of our country!" the elder repeated once sure he had Wufei's attention. " They did just and great things, surely their actions will be awarded justly in heaven! Rejoice and take pride that your parents are such great people!"  
  
"What's so just about their death that they leave their only son and child behind to fend for himself?" Wufei asked coldly, slapping the Elder's hands away.  
  
The Elder sat back in his seat, shocked at Wufei's words. It took a moment for him to recover his speech and words.  
  
"For such great parents, they should bring up such a selfish son. You bring dishonor to your family and name."  
  
Wufei angrily looked up into the old man's eyes, allowing his anger and contempt to show on his face. "You have no right to say if I dishonor the family name or not. What do you know about justice and honor? How do you know my parents will be justly awarded for their actions in saving our country? Are you God?" Wufei asked furiously, anger clouding over logic. Right now, all he wanted to do was hurt somebody, anybody, as long as he could make that person hurt like he was hurting now.  
  
The Elder kept quiet for a while, taking his time to observe his angry frame and the reasons behind it. Then, the Elder's face took on a softer quality and he addressed the boy: "I may not be God, nor will I be able to appropriately award your parents for giving up their lives just to save millions of people and livestock living, depending, on 'huang he'. But I can try to glorify their great deeds here and give them an honorable burial, such that their deeds shall be remembered throughout time. And that's about as just and honorable as I can achieve here on this planet, in this life!"  
  
Wufei looked away, the Elder just didn't see the injustice of it all. There was no heaven, for if there was, his parents wouldn't be dead. And if there was no heaven, then there was no justice. Not in this world or any world to come after it.  
  
"Before your father's death, the discussion on your marriage was decided," the Elder continued, seemingly ignorant of the grief Wufei was suffering from in his heart now. "I had doubts at first, but now, seeing you for the first time, I believe your parents were right. Mr and Mrs Chang were exceptional people and I know you will be too, being their son."  
  
"My parents just died and you're talking about marriage?!!" Wufei asked, incredulousness mixing with his anger and grief. "What kind of a man are you? Do you even have children of your own to begin with??!"  
  
At his exclaimations, the Elder banged his stick on the floor of the car suddenly with a solid * thump! * Wufei could see he had made the Elder very angry; for the old man's face had turned thunderously black and formidable.  
  
"My daughters and sons died before me. My parents were long since dead. Now, all I have in the world is my precious granddaughter to carry on our family's blood and I'm asked the question whether I have children of my own to love?"  
  
Wufei kept silent to those words. He had successfully caused the Elder the same hurt he was feeling but that didn't lessen the pain.  
  
"Your parents loved you the way I love my granddaughter! Do not bring them dishonor and disgrace! This marriage shall proceed on as scheduled and without futher delay!" the old man continued, then lapsed into silence, looking out the car window as the scenery raced by.  
  
And that was the way the car trip carried on till the end.  
  
  
  
Author's Proclamation: My best friend, Des, specially edited the last chapter in TSNW! Thanks to her, you had a grammer and spelling free chapter!* claps her hands * Sadly, editing by me is continued from now onwards . . . bear with me. :] 


	18. Irony

AN: With an exam looming round the corner, I am not able to write dedications. However, thanks to all you wonderful readers out there for reviewing! Dedications will resume after my exams! :]  
Chapter 18  
  
If anyone had invented anything like a word that described things that seem the most unlikely to happen but happened anyway because heaven had a kind of wrapped humor, that word would be irony.  
  
So maybe viewing Duo as very unique individual was possibly 100% wrong. Especially when his counterpart seems to be the new arrival, Jess. Both people were talking their heads off in the artificially created morning in the spacecraft kitchen, ESPECIALLY when all five boys had returned from a really tiring fight with OZ fighters the night before.  
  
'How can those two radiate such energy?' Heero thought as he glared at the twosome talking endlessly as if there was no tomorrow, over his morning cup of coffee.  
  
'There's got to be a plug somewhere that can stop those two.' Trowa thought blurry as he looked at them through sleep-laden eyes.  
  
Only Quatre was smiling like an idiot even though his eyes were already closing and head drooping slowly towards his porridge in front of him.  
  
'Probably thinking how cute this scene is,' Wufei thought with a grimace. Stealing a glance at Duo and Jess happily talking away, something started twisting painfully in his chest. It almost brought back something painful and yet bittersweet to him.  
  
'No. No more memories. Not if I want to forget her.'  
  
"I'm going to work on Nataku. She's needing some urgent repairs from yesterday's fight," he spoke to the room in general, barely able to look at Jess and Duo who had stopped talking when he got up from his chair.  
  
He felt all weariness from last night, fall from him as he strode away from the kitchen to the Gundam hanger. Sleep right now was not an option. Not if he didn't want to dream about her as he did ever since her death.  
  
"Well, someone sure seems full of energy today." Duo said, stifling a small yawn. Heero, Trowa and Jess stared at him. Quatre's head had finally reached his porridge bowl and was hanging precariously over it.  
  
Irony. That's the whole beauty of it.  
  
Heero leaned over and pulled the blond from his oblivious danger with the porridge bowl.  
  
"Time for bed," Trowa said, stating the obvious. Duo nodded and between him and Heero, helped Quatre out of the kitchen to his room with Trowa following behind, leaving Jess alone in the kitchen.  
  
"Guys," Jess muttered as she stared at the dirty table left for her to clean up as the boys exited from the room.  
  
Ironic: they eat, you clean.  
Wufei tinkered with a small piece of metal sheet while he checked Nataku's status and damage report.  
  
'Hmmm . . . not so bad. A few holes here and there, a few missing and burnt wires . . . nothing a few replacements can't do.'  
  
Glancing around, he looked at the robot that he had come to love so much. Not the kind of love-crazy like Duo have for his robot or love- weapons-because-they-give-me-security like Heero's. More so because it gave him comfort, made him feel like he belonged, unlike any place out of it.  
  
'Like Meiran . . .' Shaking his head, he climbed out of the cockpit in the robot's body.  
  
'I'm supposed to forget her, not recall her.' He looked at the robot. 'But this is the only place where I find peace, as if she is here, with me in it . . .'  
  
'Aaahhhh! Who am I kidding? The dead can't hang around the living forever. The Chinese always believe that sooner or later, the guardians would take the person away to hell to be judged.'  
  
'I wish she was here. I miss her.'  
  
"Hey there! WuFEI!" A female voice rang out behind him. Wufei dropped the metal sheet he was holding onto his foot.  
  
"Ouch! Ow . . .," he said as he went hoping around the robot's tiny platform.  
  
"Sheesh! Woman! You don't have to call me so suddenly!" he shouted at Jess, trying to glare daggers at her as he hopped here and there.  
  
'Hmm! A fine intimidating figure I make!' He thought sarcastically as he watched Jess try and stifle her laughter.  
  
"What you want?" He asked curtly, turning his back on her and picking up the metal sheet and fire torch to fill in a hole in Nataku's arm. His actions fairly radiated "you're not wanted" signs.  
  
"Well, for one thing, I'm bored. For another, is she new?"  
  
"No," he answered as he placed the metal sheet on the hole and turned the fire torch on before pulling the fire shield over his face.  
  
"Well, I've never seen her around before."  
  
"That is an obvious lie and you know it," he answered. "I've been piloting her before you came. And you, definitely have seen her, with me in it, before."  
  
"Yeah, well. I wasn't talking about her. I was talking about Her." Jess was beginning to sound a little bit piss off now.  
  
"Make sense woman," Wufei said, feeling more than a little fed-up now.  
  
"What's her name?"  
  
"Nataku."  
  
"Is she a new attendant or something? I have never seen her around the base before."  
  
Wufei felt his muscles freeze in position and his hairs start to stand on the end. With his vocal muscles already freezing up, his next sentence was becoming difficult and hard to form.  
  
"Define attendant."  
  
"Well. it's that chinese girl standing on your . . .left! The one with two ponytails and wearing a black body-hugging suit with a logo printed on the arm. She's helping you repair your robot, right?"  
  
Without turning around, Wufei was barely able to choke out: "There's no one up here execpt me."  
  
"Nice try Wufei. I can see that girl as clear as daylight. Wait! Is she your secret girl friend and your hating girls is just a facade? I knew it!"  
  
Jess voice started to fade in the distance, as Darkness suddenly seemed to appear and close around his vision. Then a rush of air surrounded his body, accompanied by the cries of two girls screaming in shock.  
  
'Two girls' screams . . .?'  
  
A jolt to his head and suddenly. it was very quiet. 


	19. Past and Present

AN: Hello people! Long time no see! WOAHHH! That's a lot of reviews . . . oh dear . . . Well, lets see if I can write it all correctly! * grins evilly *  
I like to dedicate this chapter to: Chara, Silent Fear, Herald Mistylenna, Kurai, Kalorna Enera, soulwithwings, misori-chan, Yukito chick and belle beauty. O'o  
  
I see some newcomers as well. Hi to Dark Faerie, Dragon Girl, ladyfalcon237 and cryearthstearsfalltou! If I put anyone in the wrong section of dedications, just smile and bear with it. You all be in one section in the next chapter. Unless, of course, my memory fails me again . . .  
  
Well, on with the fic! :]  
Chapter 19  
  
[Flashback]  
  
The day of the wedding dawned nice, bright and cheerful. It was one of those days where the birds chirp happily outside; calling to one another from their perch in the treetops, and the sun shone its rays through every single window of the house, casting patches of sunny yellow on the wooden floor. On days like that, Wufei would steal into his father's library, take whatever book he had an interest in, and run outside to sit and read in the grass field beyond, on a rock beneath a yew tree. There he would stay till his mother called him in for lunch or brought lunch to him.  
  
But not today.  
  
Even if he wanted to run with all his heart, today was definitely not the day. The five village elders were already outside his house waiting. Hack, they were outside his house the night before; they were outside his house the day before and the day before that and the day before that day and so on.  
  
In fact, they had been outside his house ever since he insisted, and won, that they grant him the freedom to return home, regardless of the fact his parents weren't there to take care of him anymore. What he didn't expect was, all five old coots (actually four and a middle-age coot) would build a tent right outside his house and camp at the door!  
  
Pretty soon, whatever privacy he envisioned, was blown to dust with all of them walking in and out of his house, at all times of the day, demanding for food, water, necessities, and whatnots the miserable tent failed to offer.  
  
And running away was like trying to escape from a high-tech security prison. Wufei couldn't even sneak out in the middle of the night for a quick leak without one of the old apes at his heels in five seconds flat.  
  
'Have any of them heard of DIGNITY?!!' Wufei thought angrily as he stared blurrily at the outfit he was to wear for the wedding. Grabbing up his glasses, he peered through them curiously to study the "monkey suit" he was to wear. 'Not to mention PRIVACY. I ain't no five-year old needing someone to wait outside the toilet for me! Darn that person who thinks it's fashionable for toilets to be located outside the house!'  
  
"Wufei! Are you dressed yet?!" an old man's voice called from outside the room window.  
  
"Hold your horses, old man!" Wufei shouted back, feeling his temper shoot right up to the top of his head. One week with these old coots was enough to send anyone's blood pressure rising. These old men had been with him for THREE weeks! The consequence? His life, most likely, shortens by half.  
  
'Privay. I NEED privacy,' he thought as he looked at his wedding outfit. He didn't want to wear it. He felt like shredding it instead.  
5 minutes later, he was standing outside his house; hair neatly combed straight, trademark spectacles on his nose and wearing the cursed wedding outfit as the elders stood in front of him, surveying him from head to toe.  
  
"Come," the oldest of the elders said, and led the way down the tiny path to where the car waited at the main road. The rest of them followed.  
  
Half way down the path, Wufei stopped and looked back at the tiny house he called home.  
  
'Ma . . . Pa . . ., I'm about to embark on the biggest and most uncertain journey of my life. I wish you were here,' he thought. And for a moment, whether it was a trick of the sunlight or something in the air, he envisioned his parents, standing at the doorway as they would when watching the sunset, smiling at him. And for that moment, he let himself believe that they were really there, looking proudly at him.  
  
"Wufei! Hurry up! We can't keep the whole village waiting!" the youngest of the village elders hollered from the car. Wufei watched as the vision faded. Then, he obediently turned and ran the rest of the way to the car.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
"Ok! Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're telling me that Sally and I are the only FEMALES on this ship???" asked an incredulous Jess.  
  
Six heads nodded in unison in response to her question.  
  
"But . . . but that CRAZY! I know what I saw and there was a Chinese female standing alongside Wufei when he was repairing his darn robot!" Jess blurted out.  
  
Five raised eyebrows looked at her. The rest of the gundam pilots and Doctor J were not looking very pleased with the way she referred to the robot as 'darn'. All of them were gathered in the doctor's room, surrounding Wufei who was on the bed.  
"If what you're saying is true. it's hard to believe in since science can't prove it. However, it leaves us with a very LOGICAL reason why you would want to harm Wufei . . ." Trowa said, leaving the unsaid hanging in the air. Trust Trowa to be practical and straightforward.  
  
By this time, Heero had whipped out his old trusty gun and pointed it at Jess head. Jess was looking down a black barrel leading to the gun's body.  
  
"State your business with OZ and get ready to die in five seconds if you don't." Heero quietly said.  
  
Jess looked desperately around. No one in the room could meet her eyes except Heero, who was already looking set and ready to kill her.  
  
Duo was looking at the wall blankly, guilt written all over his face. Jess knew he was helpless in any of these situations, especially when his mind was most probably in conflict whether to believe her story or not. Not that she could blame him or anyone for that matter. She'll probably feel the same way, busting into a room with your best friend bleeding on the floor and a person blabbering about some unseen woman and blaming the incident that your best friend fainted and fell on his own.  
  
Quatre was suddenly looking very intensely at Wufei, bending his head so much that his fringe covered his eyes. Conflict and guilt fairly radiated off his posture.  
  
Trowa had already turned and was looking at Wufei too, obviously unable to look at her anymore, while Sally and Doctor J turned and strode from the room, closing the door quietly behind them.  
  
'God! It hurts to be doubted,' she thought as looked around the room at the boys. 'Wait! That's girl that was with Wufei before . . .!' she thought, as her eyes suddenly landed on the Chinese girl standing at the head board of Wufei's bed, looking down at him with sad eyes.  
  
"Wait! Can't you see her??" she shouted, pointing in the direction of the girl.  
  
* Click *  
  
Heero had uncorked his gun.  
  
"Enough nonsense. Get ready to die," he said with a steel grimace on his face.  
Author's Proclamation: O.o; don't anyone dare to kill me for this. It just so happen to be like that . . . look on the bright side. Two cliffhangers instead of one! :] 


	20. What on earth are you saying!

AN: Believe it or not, I had a hard time writing this chapter. But before I go into the usual singsong, I like to let you know . . . This chapter is a cliffhanger and some comic relief.  
  
I would like to dedicate this new chapter to: Herald Mistylenna, Vic, Shellie, belle beauty, Cassie-bear01, Dragon Girl, Karlona Enera, cryearthstearsfalltou, Kuria, Dream Keeper, Misori-chan, Ladyfalcon237 and soulwithwings.  
  
And I see some newcomers as well! Welcome: Iniora Nackatori, Seak, Tari of Nargothrond, Jersie, Hardcore GW fan and anamon64!  
  
Now on with the fic!  
Chapter 20  
  
[Flashback]  
  
The day was slowly turning into a nightmare. Apparently, his luck was a LOT worse than he thought. Standing next to him was the girl he quarreled with 7 years ago and she was going to be his bride.  
  
Wufei wondered if she remembered the quarrel.  
  
"You're that scholar boy." It was a statement. A rather void-sounding statement.  
  
Judging from the way she said that statement, apparently, she had forgotten. Great! Now his bride wasn't going to kill herself. One more problem on his hands.  
  
"You're dissatisfied?" he asked coolly without concern. First day of marriage and she was already irritating him on opening her mouth.  
  
'Whatever happened to those nice, sweet, SILENT girls like my mom,' he thought as he stole a side-glance at his bride. 'I guess they don't make them like they use to.'  
  
"A person like you has no right to carry on the line of our proud clan," came her seething answer. For a moment, that sentence from her lips stunned him. Then his blood boiled.  
  
"Oh? Well, it CERTAINLY wasn't my idea. Do as you please!" he retorted, and threw down the cumbersome wedding hat on the floor before ripping off his robe. Then he started to stride from the room.  
  
However, he got no further than three steps before the oldest of the elders, his bride's grandfather, bellowed his name.  
  
"Wufei!" Everyone could detect the terrible wrath underneath the voice that said his name. Wufei stopped in mid-track immediately and clutched his fists. Should he come to blows, even with his intelligence, he would not match the elder in skill. Bowing his head so no one could see his anger and humiliation, he returned to his bride's side and waited for the wedding procedures to begin.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Jess looked down the barrel of the gun and started sweating. For some reason, Heero seemed very WILLING to kill her. Turning her head in desperation, she looked at the girl now stroking the boy's head. None of the other gundam pilots were looking at the girl, ignoring her as if she didn't exist.  
  
'This is RIDICULOUS! What are they trying to do? Make me believe I can see ghosts???'  
  
"Help Me!!" She mouthed towards the girl. The girl looked up and Jess started to feel a chill sink into her very bones. The girl was very pale and wore a haunted look around her like a cloak.  
  
'She's almost translucent like a ghost!'  
  
And there was agony written all over her face, the kind of pain where one's own heart that had been torn to shreds, located in the very depth of her clear black eyes. She was fairly radiating pain waves, as if trying to transmit it into Jess. Jess's could feel her heart strings twisting like there was no tomorrow.  
  
'Not that it matters. There really is no tomorrow for me anyway . . .'  
  
Then, amazingly, the girl lifted her hand from Wufei's face and started shifting something in the pocket of Wufei's pants, out. Jess heard Duo's gasp of surprise and Trowa holding out his hand and muttering "stop!" to Heero.  
  
'Didn't know Wufei have a pocket in his Kungfu pants. It always looked like those pants where there are no pockets, just lots of cloths for easier movement.'  
  
A few minutes of silence went by and the object finally came out of the pocket into view. It fell with a soft 'plop!' on the bed and stayed there. Jess could see the girl returning both her attention and hand to Wufei's face. The boys were frozen in position for a few more seconds. The object was an old, brown wallet, almost looking like it was on the verge of falling apart at the slightest touch.  
  
"Did . . . Did you SEE THAT?" Duo's excited voice gushed out. "That thing MOVED . . . on it's . . . OWN!!!"  
  
No one said anything to that outburst.  
  
Finally, Trowa picked it up gingerly as if it was a piece of glass and examined it carefully.  
  
"Well?" Heero asked, the barrel of the gun still pointing at her. Jess sighed inwardly.  
  
'Talk about paranoid . . .'  
  
Trowa said nothing and opened the wallet. Jess saw his eyes widen until the whites of the eyes can be seen surrounding his green irises.  
  
'Well. that's a first,' she thought, watching the boy's eyes widen till they seem to swallow his face. Not that she was complaining, but Trowa always went around with half-closed eyes, as if he was going to sleep any moment. At least, that was what she felt his eyes looked like.  
  
When Trowa did speak, there was a bit of caution in his voice.  
  
"There's nothing in this wallet except this photograph . . . This picture seems about as old as the wallet, except it's been more taken care of. Could . . . could you describe the girl's features to me again?" Trowa asked, turning his face, now filled with disbelief, to Jess.  
  
Jess concentrated on the girl's features, who was still standing at the head of Wufei's bed, still stroking his face gently while wearing a sad expression.  
  
"Why? She's standing just down there. You can see for yourselves." Jess answered, pointing in the direction of the girl. The girl looked up and gave her a sad smile. Jess watched the gundam pilots whipped their heads around and looked at the girl for a second. Then an uneasy look was exchanged between the boys.  
  
"Yeah . . . but could you describe her to us again?" Trowa asked politely.  
  
'Weird . . .' Warning signals were starting to go crazy in Jess's head.  
  
" She's Chinese, fair skin, fairly big black eyes, two ponytails and she has bangs. Quite pretty if you ask me." Jess answered, throwing a small smile in the direction of the girl. The girl returned her attention to Wufei.  
  
"The description fits," Trowa said quietly, handing the wallet to Quatre while Duo looked over his shoulder, then handed the wallet to Heero, who lowered his gun after looking in the wallet.  
  
Jess heaved a sigh of relief.  
  
Trowa took the wallet back and turned the flap of the picture to see behind. The look on his face froze.  
  
"You guys might want to see this," he said.  
  
Jess watched the boys gather around Trowa and asked: "What?"  
  
"To my wife," Trowa read.  
  
"So.?" Jess asked, feeling funny. The boys' faces had changed into very queer looks.  
  
"Wufei's wife is dead." Heero answered while Trowa turned the opened wallet in the direction of Jess, giving her the first look of the picture inside the wallet.  
  
The picture showed a younger Wufei standing in the picture, looking very uncomfortable and miserable, and a girl about his age was standing beside him, looking equally uncomfortable and miserable as he was. Both people in the picture look like they rather be some place else, rather than posing there for the photographer taking their picture.  
  
The very same girl was now stroking Wufei's face, ignoring the people in the room.  
  
"But . . . but that can't be! She's STANDING there!" Jess cried in desperation, pointing in the girl's direction.  
  
"What you're pointing at is a blank wall," Trowa answered.  
  
Jess looked at the girl and the girl in the photograph.  
  
" But that can't be . . ." Jess muttered as darkness began to surround her vision and claim it. Slowly, as a curtain of darkness descended over her sight, she heard a soft "thud!" and then all was . . . quiet.  
  
For the first time in her life, Jess fainted.  
Author's Proclamation: If anyone wants to argue whether this is the first or second time Jess fainted in this story, it's the FIRST! If you recall, she hit the ground after falling twelve storeys down in the gundam hanger. That time, she didn't faint yet. She was knocked unconscious.  
  
Because I have no idea how to operate the favorite lists, I would like lots of people to read and REVIEW Dream Keeper's "Unexpected Help" story. She's keeping me in suspense!!! I like her story so please try to read too! :]  
  
Aside from that, a little publicity for my other story: "Cursed". I know most don't read the originals but I like to know how good the story is. So if you're free, please go to www.fictionpress.net and check out my story. Thank you! :] 


	21. Marriage and trials

AN: Hello people! How are you? Here's another chapter that delves deeper into the picture. In other words, created by me! Hee hee! But characters are not mine, except Jess. So enjoy!  
  
But first dedications: Hello Tari of Nargothrond, Vic, Kalorna Enera, cryearthstearsfalltou, belle beauty, Dream Keeper and soulwithwings. Good to see you all. And I think I see a newcomer: Hi there Emirasan! Everythings looking good! :]  
  
Now on with the fic! :]  
Chapter 21  
  
[Flashback]  
  
Wufei sat up and stretched his muscles. Sleeping on the coach wasn't a bit comfortable at all. But then, it had always been this way since the wedding. Taking a quick glance, he could see the door to the bedroom was closed. Good. His bride wasn't up yet.  
  
Wufei quickly and stealthily got off the coach and creep to his father's library. If he was fast enough, he could get the book his wife confiscated yesterday, with breakfast in his hand. Passing one of the windows, he could see the sun breaking over the horizon. Not good. His wife would be up in minutes.  
  
Wufei doubled up his speed as fast as he could while being silent. Finally, the library door loomed in front of him in the semi-darkness. Turning the knob, it gave out a tiny screech. Wufei stilled his action and watched for any sign his bride would yank open the bedroom door and catch him red-handed.  
  
After a few seconds, there was still no indication such an event would happen.  
  
Wufei heaved a sigh of relief.  
  
'I must oil the knob and soon!' he thought as he turned the knob the rest of the way as best he could, without a noise.  
  
'Tonight,' he promised himself.  
  
On entering the library, Wufei could feel the same old adrenaline rush in his veins as he looked at the familiar scenery of books, lined up neatly on stacks of shelves. It remained him so much of his father and how each pre-dawn morning; he would find his father in the library, either choosing a book to read or sitting at the study desk, located just beside the library window, watching the sunrise with his mother.  
  
Checking the window confirmed his worst fears. The amount of sunlight pouring through the window indicated he had only one or two minutes to grab a book and get the hell out of the house before his wife charged out of the room for morning exercise and lessons. It also indicated he didn't have time to look for the book his wife confiscated yesterday.  
  
With a sigh of regret, Wufei grabbed the nearest book from the door and moved out silently, closing the door quietly behind him. Silent and swift, he moved past the bedroom door into the living room, heading to the door that led outside. He got no further than the middle of the living room.  
  
"Wufei!" an unwanted and familiar voice shouted his name. Wufei paused in mid-step.  
  
Slowly, he turned and faced a fuming Meiran. His wife. She looked ready to kill someone. Mainly him.  
  
"What?" he asked coolly and watched as her face turned red with rage. Somehow, he pitied the girl. After all, he knew what this village was like and for someone like Meiran, who is of high rank and royal blood, be settled with a heretic like him, who refused to even adapt to the fighting way of their people, it must be hard on her as well.  
  
The stress was already showing. Just a few days ago, she had started confiscating his books without a word. His knowledge of hiding places was getting smaller and smaller.  
  
His admiration went up a notch further for her as he watched her struggle and successfully contains her anger.  
  
"Where are you going with that book?" she asked him in a measured voice. Wufei noticed her eyelid twitching as she calmly asked the question.  
  
Interesting.  
  
"None of your business," He answered curtly and watched as the eyelid twitched some more.  
  
"As your . . . wife," she practically spat that word out, "I demand to at least know where you're going."  
  
"As a woman, you should know your place!" he retorted, letting his contempt show in his voice. "Women are meant to be seen and not heard. Learn."  
  
"You . . .!" she began, her hands curling into fists.  
  
Wufei lifted his chin and looked at her defiantly. "Me what?" he asked, his voice cutting and cold, a deterrent for a woman defying a man's authority, especially a husband's authority.  
  
Tense minutes of silence passed between them before Meiran did an about face turn and marched into the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her. Wufei waited and listened. It was not in vain. After a few seconds, crashes, one after another, sounded in the bedroom. Meiran was throwing things around.  
  
'That was the basin . . ., the tiny ming vase . . . , hair comb, hanger . . ., cupboard . . . Shall I ask for a check or a replacement for all the staff she is breaking from her grandfather?' his mind ticked off the items, stopping only to think of the alternative solution after the fourth and loudest sounding crash happened.  
  
Then shrugging his shoulders, he turned around and headed out the door. Once outside, he turned and walked to the west, heading towards a tiny field of flowers he knew where no one would come and disturb him.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
"Has he awakened yet?" that was the first question out of Jess's mouth.  
  
"No." Trowa answered as he watched the girl struggle to sit up on the hospital bed.  
  
He watched the girl survey the room with groggy eyes before returning her attention to him.  
  
"I had a . . . funny dream," she said in a whisper, more so to herself than him.  
  
"Tell me."  
  
She gave a nervous laugh and scratched her head a little before beginning, all the time unable to look at him.  
  
" I dreamt that I could see Wufei's dead wife and you guys were threatening to kill me and suddenly . . . everything was incoherent. I don't understand any part of it but it felt so real and . . . frightening!" she said as she gripped a portion of the blanket covering her, tighter in her hands.  
  
'Poor girl.'  
  
"Tell me, does your dream showed Wufei to be in a coma?" he asked gently, trying to be easy on her.  
  
"Yeah . . . How'd you know?" she asked, finally turning big eyes on him.  
  
"Because it's true."  
  
Trowa allowed a few minutes for the information to sink in Jess's sleepy head. He wasn't disappointed with Jess's reaction when realization hit her seconds later.  
  
"WHAT?" the girl screamed, leaping to her feet, on the bed, in one single motion.  
  
'Gotta hand it to her. Her reflexes are good. The ringmaster would love her to be one of the acrobats or clowns,' he thought as he reached for the glass of water at her bedside. 'Don't think I can do that . . . Oz or not.'  
  
"Drink." He said, handling her the glass. " You'll feel better."  
  
The girl took it silently from his hands with shaking hands and muttered a small thanks to him.  
  
'Can't exactly blame her. I mean . . . how would I react if I could see ghosts?'  
  
The girl started splattering and choking on her first drink of water.  
  
Trowa sighed.  
  
'Looks like it'll be a LOOONG day.'  
Author's proclamation: That's it for this two weeks. Till then, Aido! :] 


	22. Ticking time

AN: As you all may have noticed, Fanfiction tend to upload my Chapter no. just after my AN, which is not so on my MW. So I'm trying out the changing of letter's color to see if it works! Arrhhhh! So frustrating!  
  
Btw, I have exams next month, so this is the last update for about a month. Till then, keep on hanging and hoping. Nei? :]  
  
Anyway, I like to dedicate this chapter to: Chara, DragonGirl, Tari of Nargothrond, Kalorna Enera, belle beauty, Death's little side kick, Chibi Chibichi, Dream Keeper and Kuria! * Wave hi to all her wonderful faithful reviewers! * Nice to see you all again, especially Kuria who was missing for one chapter! Speaking of missing: if Misori-chan is reading this, I miss you too! Hope you're fine wherever you are! (I like to keep track of all the reviewers, especially those who go a long way back with me . . . :])  
  
Hi there to the Newcomers: sapphire angel, Fuji Fox (WOW! You really went and outdid yourself with reviewing EVERY chapter! I'm so thankful! You made my review number look good!), fifi88 and ybewd! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and hope you will continue to read "The Story that Never Was"!  
  
Now on with the fic!  
Chapter 22  
  
[flashback]  
  
Wufei opened his book to read, feeling the peacefulness of the flower field surround him. Three peaceful, wonderful and sunny days have passed without his wife finding him in this field and confiscating the book in his hand. Even at home, she had held her silence, cooking his meals as usual, only more burnt then they used to be.  
  
Oh well, if that was the condition for this peace, Wufei wouldn't mind eating bad-tasting dinners everyday; her dinners weren't that great tasting to begin with. And if he didn't want to die of cancer in the long run, there was always takeout he could get before dinner.  
  
Scanning the page with his eyes, Wufei allowed the warmth of the sun to seep into his bones, taking great enjoyment in the peace surrounding him.  
  
Light feet landed on his shoulders. Wufei looked up at the small bird with a tiny smile. He had made friends with the small-feathered mammal while spending most of his time in the field. One of the reasons would be feeding the bird with the healthier portion of his wife's dinner. That would be the unburned part. It also allowed him to get rid of food without wasting it.  
  
Then the hairs on his neck began to stand as he returned to reading the book. It was a very familiar feeling. The bird on his shoulder flew off.  
  
"Wufei! You call yourself a man? I thought that, after becoming my partner, you'd change a little. I guess I was completely wrong."  
  
'You got that right,' he thought as he flipped the page over. Whatever in the book was going to be more interesting than whatever his wife was going to say. The sounds of her approach made him grip the book tighter. No way was he going to lose this book without reading at least three quarters of it!  
  
"Wufei! Why don't you ever practice fighting techniques, like the others?"  
  
Wufei blinked his eyes. This was a new topic.  
  
"Why . . . do you fight?" he asked, allowing a bit of his amusement to show in his voice, as his eyes quickly scanned the page before moving on to the next.  
  
"For Justice!" came her jubilant reply. That struck a cord in Wufei's brain.  
  
He closed the book.  
  
"Justice? You really think there is such a thing?" he asked, the mocking in his voice.  
  
'Don't make me laugh.'  
  
He watched as Meiran dropped into one of the crouching stance his Shi Fu (teacher) had showed the class before.  
  
"Want me to show you?" came her retort, her face looking really determined.  
  
'Oh well, fools are fools,' he thought as he pulled off his glasses.  
  
" . . . Go ahead."  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
The hospital wing was quiet except for the ticking of the clock on the wall.  
  
In one of the rooms, the remaining four gundam pilots and a girl gathered around a bed, where the fifth gundam pilot seemed to be resting peacefully. All had solemn and grim faces as they watched their friend sleep in a state of no waking up.  
  
'Sally has already told us that Wufei's in a coma, not because it is natural, but because he doesn't want to wake up.'  
  
Jess blinked as she looked at the place where she last saw the girl. Scrap that, the ghost.  
  
'Nope. Not here. I wonder where she went? Do ghosts have any place to go?' she thought as she eyed the empty space where the ghost used to be. Glancing at the boys, she observed their reaction to their friend's plight.  
  
Heero was silent and looked uncomfortable at being unable to doing anything to help someone close out of trouble.  
  
'Must be his first time.'  
  
Trowa had settled down in a chair next to the bed and appear to be deep in thought.  
  
'As always.'  
  
Quatre was looking worried and scared as he watched Wufei sleep on the bed, as he would with anyone he cared for.  
  
'He sure is more in tune with his feminine side. If he was ever a girl, he would make a very strong rival in love for any girl.'  
  
Turning her eyes to Duo, Jess breath caught in her throat. Duo seemed on the verge of exploding. He was already tightening his hands into fists, and shifting from one leg to another and back again. Jess started counting.  
  
'1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 . . .'  
  
She never made it to the 5th count. Duo exploded into action by jumping on the bed, grabbing fists-full of Wufei's shirtfront and shaking him like a dog with a rag doll, while yelling: " HEY WU-MAN! WAKE UP! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU??!!!"  
  
He gave everyone a bad shock with his sudden action, momentary freezing all the occupants from any movement.  
  
'Didn't know he felt that angry . . . and upset.'  
  
By now, the rest of the boys had gained their sense of movement and were rushing to stop the senseless harm he was doing to the other boy.  
  
"Duo! Stop it! You're hurting him!" Quatre shouted at him, trying to catch one of the flailing arms.  
  
"That's good! At least he'll wake up from the pain instead of lying here like a dead person!" Duo shouted back, still shaking the limp lifeless body  
  
"Gees! Stop it already. If he'll ever wake up, he gonna feel that!" Jess yelled, her worry hitting red alert. Wufei's head was swaying vigorously from side to side on his neck. If this went on, his neck would break.  
  
Trowa tried to climb onto the bed to stop Duo's tirade on Wufei's pitiful body, but to no avail. Duo's movement was such that he occupied the whole bed with his actions and unless Trowa wanted to suffer a series of concussions, he couldn't get in a meter's reach to Duo.  
  
Heero had already drawn his gun and was pointing it at Duo.  
  
"Baka! Put the BOY down. You're going to KILL him!" He shouted over the dean.  
  
Whether it was Heero's words or Duo being exhausted from his efforts, Duo suddenly stopped his insanity. Silence settled over the room like a thick blanket, but in it's effect, caused more tension than relief. Even though Duo had stopped shaking Wufei, he still held onto the body by the shirt. Wufei, meanwhile, looked like a broken doll, as his hands hang lifelessly suspended from his body and his head lolled on his shoulders from side to side, as if his neck was broken, before finally coming to a rest, hanging lifelessly downwards from the back of the shoulders.  
  
No one dared to say anything.  
  
Then Duo opened his mouth to speak and his words came out in a whisper.  
  
"You know, we've been through much worst than this Wu-man. Come on . . . wake up. What's in dreamland that is so entrancing that you refuse to wake?"  
  
Slowly, Duo lowered the body, got off the bed and walked out the door. But not before Jess saw Duo's eyes becoming suspiciously bright.  
  
'Duo's crying????'  
  
Author's Proclamation: So there you have it! A cliffhanger on both sides again. I know you all told me not to do this before but hey! I can't help it. It just seems to end perfectly here! Wahhhhhh! If I write on, it'll launch into a new chapter and I do not want that to happen! So enjoy anyway! :] One month wait so don't go checking any sooner! :] 


	23. Sucker!

AN: Exams are finished! Yessssssssssssss yesssssssssss YES!!!!! Now I have more time on my hands to do whatever I want! Hey wait! I need to find a job . . . Wahhhhhh! Oh well, at least I can write as per usual. :]  
  
Okie! First off, I like to dedicate this chapter to: Vic, cryearthstearsfalltou, sapphire angel, ybewd, DragonGirl, Fuji Fox, Cactuskitty, Kuria, Tari of Nargothrond, soulwithwings, Kalorna Enera, Dream Keeper, Shellie and Death's little side kick! Hope I didn't miss anyone there . . .  
  
And three more new reviewers: Hello AmBeR*SiLvEr, Starlight_X1 and Arianna! Thanks for reading and liking my story. :] May all my wonderful reviewers continue to patronize my fic! Thank you for all your wonderful reviews!  
  
Now on with the fic.  
  
Chapter 23  
  
[Flashback]  
  
The sudden pour of rain came as no surprise to him and Meiran. The planet they live on had a failing core and obsolete maintenance system, which result in all the temperamental weather and "natural disasters" they have. Wufei's father had actually been working on an alternate project with the planet's scientists on how to create a new system that would at least stabilize the weather conditions around the world. However, that dream was now lost with his parents' death.  
  
Wufei watched as his wife made a quick leap towards him in her attack and sidestepped. His wife went past him in a gust of wind. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the look of surprise appearing on her face.  
  
Without turning around, he could visualize his wife landing on her right foot, using her left foot simultaneously to twist her body around before making another leap, this time with three fingers stretched out to hit the acute points in the back of his neck to paralyze him.  
  
'How predictable. Just so like her and my parents,' he thought as he ducked, reaching behind to catch her hand and pulling her over him. Once she was in mid-air, he let go and let the momentum he created, carry her over the rest of the way. He watched as his wife landed on her butt with a muttered: "Ouch."  
  
However, within a blink of an eye, she was up on her feet again, none worse for wear except more scuffled and soaked to the skin than he was. Wufei mentally gave a snort.  
  
'Stupid woman. What can determination do?' he thought. 'You'll get nowhere in the end. Like my parents.'  
  
He watched as his wife started forward, this time moving her feet fast. The grass and flowers gave out a 'shushing' sound as she passed, bending in the wind caused by the motion of her running. Wufei raised an eyebrow. His wife is a fast learner. Since she figured she couldn't use long distance attacks on him, she moved in for the kill up close.  
  
He looked carefully at the hands now positioned at her side for maximum blows. It would give away the next attack.  
  
'Hmmm . . . fisted hand except for the forefinger and middle one,' he thought as he bended back, narrowly missing the hand that shot up to hit his chin.  
  
'And three fingers out, slightly bent like a claw. She's going to try the "tiger claw" and paralyzing techniques together.' He finished his deduction as he moved swiftly to the side, evading the tiger claw aimed at his leg.  
  
'Interesting . . . but not good enough for me!' With that, he moved one hand up, efficiently using his own fore and middle finger to catch the paralyzing hand by the wrist, while using the other to block the "tiger claw". He watched a variety of emotions play across his wife's face. From determination to surprise, and then finally to frustration when she couldn't get her hand out of his grip. The tiger claw changed to a fist.  
  
Wufei mentally gave a smirk. This was the moment he had been waiting for. He watched as his wife threw her body weight at him, all the strength placed behind the fist aimed for his face . . . and released her hand while side stepping. His wife went past him, a look of shock apparent on her face. Then, before she could regain any balance, he made a wide sweeping arch with his left leg, whipping her legs out from under her.  
  
His wife landed on the ground with a * thud! *, Mud splattering everywhere from the impact of her fall.  
  
For a minute, Meiran lay on the ground as if dead. Wufei moved near to his wife still body.  
  
He watched as Meiran lifted her head slowly off the ground before struggling to her hands and knees. Judging from beating she took from her foolish actions and the way she was breathing so hard, she wouldn't be able to get up to fight him now. She had lost.  
  
"How . . . how could it be? I am the strongest of our clan . . ." she whispered, shock, disbelievment and humiliation apparent in her voice.  
  
Wufei felt his anger rise. This girl still didn't get it.  
  
"You think you're Nataku?" he asked, letting anger and contempt enter his voice. "You have a lot of nerve, calling yourself by that name. There is no justice, except in individual circumstances. A fight based on such a thing is meaningless."  
  
He watched as Meiran pitifully drag herself to her feet while tears flow down her dirty cheeks, creating a white path from her eyes to her chin, and mentally sighed. She looked really terrible now; like he had really bashed her up real good when he had hardly laid a finger on her.  
  
Then her teary reply set his teeth on the edge.  
  
"I understand that! But even so, I have to fight! That's the way of our people!" she cried.  
  
Wufei rolled his eyes in frustration.  
  
'Stupid, weak woman,' he thought as regarded his wife's pitiful form.  
  
"Come. Home." He said as he turned sharply on his heel and walked towards the direction of the house. Behind him, the gentle sound of the grass shushing told of his wife's obedience for the moment.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
"Duo . . ." Jess voice came drifting through the metal sliding door.  
  
"Go . . . away . . . I wish to be left alone. Now," came Duo's tortured answer through the door.  
  
"Come on Duo, you need help. I know it. Let me help you . . . ," Jess called again, hoping to get through not only the metal door, but also the mental wall Duo had put up and surrounded himself in.  
  
It had been three days since Duo walled himself in his room. Again. This time with no snacks to help him survive. By now, all the remaining pilots were awfully worried, including Jess.  
  
'Can't blame them,' she thought. 'OZ takes up half their worries and Wufei the other half. With Duo acting the way he is now, the burden just adds up.'  
  
'Although I would greatly APPRECIATE it if I WASN'T the last resort! she thought, feeling her anger rise up as she recalled the urgent meeting the gundam pilots held earlier in Quatre's room.  
  
[flashback]  
  
"I DON"T CARE! I say let's dismantle his door and get him out of there. He's starving himself slowly to death by the looks of it!" Heero shouted, finally allowing his temper and worry to burst forth after accumulating for 3 days, what with OZ sudden vicious attacks, Wufei's condition and Duo change of attitude, which greatly reduced the freedom fighters to a crucial threesome, adding more worry to their already burdensome load.  
  
All the remaining pilots and Jess were sitted in a circle, on Quatre's bedroom floor.  
  
'That was definitely the first time I saw Heero loose control of his normal cool self. The situation has definitely gotten much worse than before. Even I can feel it . . .'  
  
"As much as I like to agree with your tantalizing plan, I do recall something dangerous about his door," Trowa calmly answered, although his eyes showed him to be harvesting deep worry as well. "Especially when it's locked. I believe he told me once he set it to high electric touch- frequency. So for one to get to his room alive, one have to shut the ship down, in which everyone suffocates since dismantling steel doors take half an hour, or you have to know the EXACT locations to press in EXACT sequence, which is risky since the slightest mistake means blowing yourself out. Either that or you fry like bacon to a crisp.  
  
'Thanks to that piece of information, I have developed a phobia of knocking on Duo's door!' Jess thought, eyeing the door in front of her critically.  
  
"How about we lie that Wufei has suddenly woken up?" Quatre questioned.  
  
All the pilots sighed.  
  
"We do that, he finds out, back to the room he goes and this time there wouldn't be anything able to drag him out other than hearing Wufei's voice speaking to him. By then, he'll either be a living skeleton or a dead corpse." Heero answered, letting his frustration show. "Sometimes I wonder about you. Haven't you learn enough through fighting this war??" Heero asked, giving him a cold glare.  
  
" I . . . just . . . want to . . . help. I'm . . . worried . . ." The boy answered, hesitantly. Obviously Heero's words had struck him in the face and hurt him badly.  
  
"Come on Heero. It's not like he's telling you to go jump a wall or something. He's just suggesting a pretty good plan. That is . . .until you mentioned the inevitable . . ." Jess spoke up, feeling sorry for the pretty little blond boy who seemed to have shrunk under Heero's glare.  
  
"Well, for a person his POSITION, he should be able to fully comprehend what's it's like to make a mistake, especially when it concerns another person's life." Heero shot back, glaring daggers at her.  
  
'And thanks to that glare, insult and everything, my short-live temper had to rise.'  
  
"Well! Let me tell you something. At LEAST he's using his energies on THINKING up a solution. Unlike YOU wasting it away and taking your damn frustrations on us! Everybody here is just as frustrated and worried as you are, so don't give us the crap that you feel worse then the rest of us and think you can get away with it!" Jess shot back, returning his glare perfectly. Heero's eyebrows by then had shot so high up they almost touched his hairline. But as the words slowly sunk in, his eyes narrowed, showing his displeasure over what she had just said.  
  
" YOUU." he began with narrowed eyes but stopped short. Silence reigned for the next few minutes as Heero scrutinized her intently before drawing away, a faint smile tugging at one corner of his mouth.  
  
"W-What . . . ," Jess asked, feeling somehow more creeped out by Heero's sudden smile than glare.  
  
Heero continued to gloat as he looked at Jess, leaning back as he did on the floor. He only answered when Trowa gave him a light shove on the back to get him talking.  
  
"Ever noticed how GENTLEMANLY Duo gets when there's a girl around . . .?" Heero asked the room in general, letting the question hang in the air.  
  
Jess felt a trickle of fear creep down her spine. Somehow, SOMETHING was going wrong. For her.  
  
"Yeah . . ." Trowa agreed, seeming to have caught onto Heero's idea. " Now that you've mentioned it . . ."  
  
"Huh . . .?" came Quatre's blur question, obviously still in the dark.  
  
Heero gave him a frustrated glare before grinding out: "Remember what Duo did when Relenna protected me?"  
  
"Yeah. You told us Relenna saved your life from being shot by . . . Oh . . .!" Quatre had finally caught on.  
  
"Don't you dare "Oh . . . !", Quatre! Whatever it is, I'm NOT doing it." Jess shouted, jumping to her feet and glaring daggers at them.  
  
"Now Jess . . ." Quatre began, obviously trying to pacify her.  
  
"Don't "now Jess" me, Quatre!" Jess snapped at the now seemingly ungrateful pilot.  
  
"I think that whatever you're planning right now isn't going to help."  
  
"And to THINK the same person was lecturing me a minute ago on WASTING my energies when I obviously came up with the fool-proof plan," Heero spoke out to the room in general, letting his sarcastic tone be heard in his words.  
  
"What the hell are you trying to say?" Jess spoke, turning dagger-eyes on him.  
  
"Oh nothing," Heero answered breezily, " Just that my plan is that you go to Duo and try to get him out of his room, FEMALELY as you can. Unless . . . you are less than . . ."  
  
"Youu . . ." Jess began, hands itching to strangle the messy brown-haired pilot in front of her.  
  
"However, we could VOTE whether this solution is useful enough as our last resort." Heero continued, unruffled by the sudden build up of temper directed at him.  
  
"All in favour of Jess getting Duo out of his room, rise up your hands," Heero called out, raising his right hand as he spoke.  
  
Trowa, after a second contemplation, raised up his hand. Jess kept her hands firmly planted to her sides. Only Quatre seemed hesitant on raising his hands.  
  
"Well . . . ?" Heero prodded him, giving him the superior look.  
  
"I . . . I . . ."  
  
"You wouldn't betray me, right Quatre???" Jess turned to him, hands clasped in front of her and giving her very best imitation of an innocent helpless doe about to be slaughtered.  
  
"I . . . I . . ." Quatre was beginning to look very green and pressurized.  
  
"Just to let you guys know, we don't have much time till dinner. Can we finish this up quickly?" Trowa asked calmly, looking at the watch on his hand.  
  
" I . . . I . . . I need to go to the loo." 


	24. Dilemma

AN: Hi people. Me here typing this chapter. Something I haven't done for a long time and I'm really kinda excited. To you guys, it's just two weeks update. To me, it's actually a whole year since I last touched this fic.  
  
Anyway, this chapter goes out to: Cloud, Cactuskitty, Kuria, Fuuga Kumi, Tari of Nargothrond, Dream Keeper and Death's Lil Side Kick (thanks for reviewing personally, I'm really flattered!), by the way, I've received all your reviews and I can see it isn't posted on my review page. Perhaps because it takes 24 hours for some reviews to be uploaded. :] Thanks anyway, it was really sweet of you to take the effort to review.  
  
Now on with the Fic!  
  
Chapter 24  
  
[Flashback]  
  
"Get into the buses quickly! We're heading for our nation's greatest laboratory!" the teacher with the microphone hollered at the children mulling about the courtyard in front of the 5 large school buses.  
  
"Hey there, the both of you! Stop playing and get on the bus!" he shouted at Wufei and Meiran, who were struggling with each other; Meiran pulling him towards the direction of the bus door and Wufei struggling against her hold, leaning towards the direction of the school's library.  
  
"Give it up!" Meiran hissed under her breath at Wufei as she tried to drag him towards the nearest bus. However, her efforts seemed infertile. Instead, SHE was being dragged towards the library little by little. For the zillionth time since she was married to him, Meiran cursed the books under her breath.  
  
"Dream on," came his muttered retort as he dragged her further one inch, his muscles straining against her weight and strength, as well as his own. "I have better things to do then to psycho myself to admire half the things the books can teach me to do!"  
  
"Well, unlike you, I don't understand half the things that you read, therefore there's no need for me to pretend!" Meiran answered back hastily, trying her best to put in more strength into her already tired muscles. Wufei didn't even budge an inch.  
  
"Then go yourself," Wufei coolly replied, feeling sick of her demanding attitude. She would normally do things that way since the day they married. Why was today any different?  
  
"I can't!" came her angry reply. "I would love to but I can't!" That stopped him in his tracks.  
  
"Why? What's so different today?"  
  
"Didn't you read the form?!" she questioned, one hand letting go to dig furiously through her pockets, the other still clasped tightly to his arm. Her hand eventually found its target.  
  
"Here!" she said, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper and dumping it into his hands. Wufei gave her a suspicious look and smoothed out the wrinkles to read the text.  
  
His eyes quickly did a scan of the page while his brain did a recap on the other form handed out to him.  
  
"All couples need to attend. If your partner is absent, your attendance will be forfeited," he read out loud. He took a quick glance at his wife hopeful face.  
  
"Mine didn't have these conditions," he told her bluntly and watched her face lose its hopefulness. "It just said attendance is compulsory." Meiran flared up at the mention of the last sentence.  
  
"If it said compulsory, why aren't you going?!!"  
  
"I've done this before. Not like it will make a big difference whether I go or not. And the teachers should be use to this by now."  
  
"Well, it makes a big difference to me!"  
  
"Like I care." Wufei handed the paper back to her but something disturbed his thoughts.  
  
"When did you received your form?" he asked. But Meiran was sulking and ignoring him now.  
  
"Answer me."  
  
Meiran turned her back to him.  
  
Wufei sighed and looked at the library, then Meiran, then the library again. His memory, being fantastic, brought out the tiny discrepancy between his and Meiran's letter and blew it up into balloon size in his face. He just couldn't let it go like that.  
  
"Fine," he relented after a few minutes of contemplating his wife's stiff back. "You tell me when you received your form and I accompany you on this stupid laboratory trip. BUT don't expect me to follow you and your crazy female friends around," he quickly added. Meiran's friends, especially the girl ones, annoyed him to no end. They were the kind that had nothing better to say than to criticize everything that crossed their way. Even him.  
  
"Wednesday. The same as you," she answered, quickly striding away towards the nearest bus before he could find a way to take back his promise. But to Wufei, such a thought was far from his mind.  
  
In fact his mind did a quick calculation and came up with a very likely solution to their letters differing in wordings. He and Meiran were in the same class and the teacher had handed out the forms to everyone from the same pile. Therefore someone had observed where he and Meiran usually sat and did a very accurate analysis and calculation that enabled him and Meiran to receive the "special" forms. His was an ordinary measure. Meiran's form was for backup.  
  
Someone wanted to meet him.  
  
With growing intrigue, he followed his wife silently for a stupid trip he would normally forgo on usual days.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Jess sighed. So here she was, at death's door (ironically), trying to get "Shinigami" out from his hiding place.  
  
'What I wouldn't give to have someone else take my place!' she thought as she glanced over to the side where the remaining Gundam Boys were hiding; behind a sharp corner that would lead out into the main ship passage.  
  
The glint of metal near the bottom of the floor indicated where Heero was hiding; crouching near the floor, his muscles most likely tense for immediate action. It also showed that the gun he was holding had shifted positions to aim directly at her.  
  
'Dumb, idiotic, @&#! Guy!' she mentally cursed in her mind as she did an immediate switch of concentration back to the deadly door. Straining her ears, she could detect the slight strains of the Egyptian recital for the dead, and called herself a hundred times a fool.  
  
'That's the last time I'm going to help any innocent looking blond guy out of pity!' she fumed, her shoulders stiff from anger as she caught the sentence: "I shall walk along the river of death and shall feel no fear . . ." Courtesy of Quatre.  
  
'He can fend for himself next time!'  
  
* Click! *  
  
Jess swallowed nervously and opened her mouth to talk; Heero had also just made his point very clear on what he wanted Jess to do. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied Trowa changing his hiding place from behind the corner to behind the metal arch that was a nearer distance to Duo's door.  
  
"Duo . . . dear . . .?" Her voice came out a tiny squeak. For a moment, the recital in the background paused suspiciously, then carried on.  
  
Jess blushed a deep red. Apparently, they all heard the fear in her voice. Jess swallowed thickly and prayed the next words wouldn't come out shaky.  
  
"Why don't you come out and have some cakes? I happened to bake a fresh batch and they're your favorites: Stawberry Short cake and Blueberry pie." Her voice quivered a bit but was otherwise, stronger than the last attempt. Jess heaved a sigh of relief.  
  
Being in the room for three days, surely Duo couldn't resist the temptation of his favorite foods. Jess felt confident she would have it all wrapped up in a few seconds.  
  
However, Duo did not answer.  
  
"I mean, surely you must be hungry, especially when you haven't eaten for the last three days . . ." Jess continued once the silence stretched into one minute.  
  
Another glint off the gun. Another indication Heero didn't like the way things were going.  
  
"Duo??!!!!" Jess squeaked, worry evident in her voice, for her own sake as well as his.  
  
"I told you go away!" came Duo's answer, his voice laced with pain. Jess blinked in surprise.  
  
'Wow . . . what is going on in that guy's mind?' she wondered, looking at the door, hoping for the answers to suddenly come into her head. 'So much pain. So much hurt. Why? I really should have read up more on their history . . .' And regretted not knowing.  
  
'Oh well, no time, no money and no from my mom!' she justified, shrugging off the guilt on her lack of knowledge of the Gundam Boys. 'Besides, how was I to know I was going to get sucked into their world?!'  
  
Another glint of metal, this time coming from Trowa as he withdrew something from his inner vest pocket. Jess didn't waste anymore time contemplating. Anything those boys hold would be dangerous and fatal.  
  
"As much as I like to follow your TANTALIZING suggestion," Jess hinted as strongly as she could while stealing sidelong looks at the boys "persuading" her, "I'm afraid I have to deny it. Now that we're talking, I say Duo, you have to come out. If not for your own sake, then do it for MINE sake!"  
  
'And if that isn't the truth,' she thought as she wiped the beads of perspiration off her brow. Right now she was exactly in the situation where the idiom of "caught between the devil and the sea" described it perfectly.  
  
"And why should I? There's nothing out there for me," came Duo's disheartened reply from the other side of the door.  
  
"You shouldn't think like that. You have friends who care for you!" Jess chided.  
  
"Friends? Who are you kidding? They're comrades in battle. Nothing more."  
  
"TRUST me. They ARE friends," Jess grated out as she directed a good glare in Heero's direction as his gun glinted threateningly again. "Lets just say I wouldn't be here if it aren't for them."  
  
Silence greeted her after her statement.  
  
"Duo?" Jess asked uncertainly.  
  
"Just go away. I want to be alone." came his reply. Underneath his answer, Jess could still detect the pain and hurt evident in his previous answers.  
  
'Ok . . . Maybe what he needs right now is an understanding person.'  
  
"Ok Duo. I'll be frank," Jess said, ignoring the clinking sound coming from Trowa, as he cocked his own gun. "I don't know your past, nor will I ever know what your future will be like. But I can tell you this, I know you're hurting now and I'm willing to listen and help if you need me. And maybe I'm being stupid or something, lets just call it female instinct, but I think you need someone to care and listen to you right now. So open up Duo. Don't push away friends that are willing to help."  
  
Silence greeted her statement.  
  
In the back of her head, Jess realized the Egyptian recital had stopped and the tense atmosphere in the passage was slowly being replaced by the growing hope of the collective people gathered "outside" Duo's door.  
  
Then Duo's answer buried that hope six feet underground and set Jess's teeth on the edge.  
  
"Yeah. You're stupid."  
  
AN: Ok, that's one chapter down. Let's see . . . Oh, maybe 50 more chapters to go. Note the maybe! :] See you people in two weeks time! 


	25. Justice and death

AN: Hello people. Me back with a new chapter of the fic. Right now feeling refresh after a very good nap. My brain cells are back on a roll!! Yehhhhhhhh!!!!!!  
  
Now for dedication: I enjoy this part since it feels exactly like a radio deejay, except this is in written form but enough of my blabbering. I like to dedicate this fic to: Death's little side kick, Cloud, Arianna, , Kuria, Cactuskitty, Tari of Nargothrond and cryearthstearsfalltou. (I'm starting to find it easier to spell your names by heart!) :] Keep on writing!  
  
Some newcomers as well! Hello there chinchiken and ShiniNekoGrl! Great to see you enjoy my story so far. :]  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 25  
  
Wufei moved quickly down the mental path, ignoring the right and left displays of technical stuff that he could easily create from his knowledge of books. Knowing his wife own pitiful knowledge, he calculated she was probably still at the entrance with the rest of the class, enchanted by the simple science technique of wind and electricity.  
  
'Sheeh,' he thought as he glanced briefly at a circular pit display in which a tiny ball, generating heat and light, floated in the middle due to the conflicting forces of akelium and electricity acting against each other. The effect was enhanced by the circular nature of the pit, causing the electricity supplied to be applied evenly around the ball, thus multiplying the heat generated by twenty fold while reflecting the light off it's surface. Very useful in the cold nights and winter days but troublesome during the hot summer days and sweaty nights. Considering their unpredictable weather, a burden since they couldn't predict when winter would come and summer would vanish.  
  
'Hell, it could snow one day and rain the next and be hot the day after!' Wufei thought as he returned his focus to the front. 'A useless gadget offering nothing but a dream and no future! Fools.'  
  
Rounding the corner, a door just to the side, almost hidden from sight by the large displays of DNA models, caught his eye. It was almost like the arrangement was deliberately done to ensure that no one could find the door. On closer inspection, from the dust gathered on the small sign pasted on the door, Wufei could tell no one had actually noticed or found the door.  
  
"Robots," He read and his curiosity perked up a little. Sure, he had constructed small models during the time his father was alive. But due to the lack of resources and time, he lost interest overtime and concentrated on his favorite hobby: reading.  
  
Reaching out, he turned the knob. Under his hand, the knob turned smoothly and the door gently clicked open. Wufei raised an eyebrow. The knob had been well oiled, unlike its appearance that it had been forgotten for a long time. Obviously, someone had anticipated that he would find the door and prepared for his coming. With growing intrigue, he pushed the door opened and closed his eyes against the sudden attack of fierce bright light coming from the room before him.  
  
With ease, he moved into the room, closing the door gently behind him while patiently giving his eyes time to adjust to the bright light. What he didn't expect was to see two tall gigantic robots, standing stiffly side-by- side against the outer wall of the laboratory, looking out of place from whatever was outside the room. And there were people, some wearing white lab coats while others were dressed in protective suit-like clothes, all working together to make the robots and its' functions.  
  
Looking between the two, the white and green robot attracted his attention. It's metallic exterior somehow seemed to call him. Wufei didn't know he had started walking towards the robot till a voice spoke to him, shocking him back to reality.  
  
"So you think you won?" Wufei nearly jumped out of his skin. It took a few seconds to register in his head that a bald guy in a lab coat was addressing him. From the nametag pinned on his coat, Wufei could tell he was one of the personnel involved in making the robots. It took another second for him to figure out what the guy was asking.  
  
Tilting his head with scorn, he answered indignantly: "Think? No, I did win! There is no justice in this world."  
  
The guy in the lab coat shook his head and gave out a tiny chuckle.  
  
"No, you were unable to change Meiran's thinking. All you did was force your own conclusions on her." Then the bald guy narrowed his eyes as him. "PLUS, you don't do anything . . . with your strength and abilities, you could change the whole course of history."  
  
'Oh man, not this again,' Wufei thought as he rolled his eyes.  
  
"That has nothing to do with me. No one can change the course of history," he coolly replied.  
  
The man nodded his head, his face looking rather impressive as he contemplated Wufei for a moment.  
  
"Yes. You're smart," he finally said after a few seconds of silence, "But are you going to just sit back, being smart, and watch while history plays with human beings, and destroy their happiness, and kills them?"  
  
"Hn. Is that why you made these pieces of junk?"  
  
The man said nothing at first. Contemplating him like an interesting and complex specimen, just waiting for its secrets to be unveiled.  
  
"Hey, Wufei, these pieces of junk need names . . . Can you think of anything?"  
  
Looking up at the green and white robot, watching the bright light glint of the top of the metal head, Wufei thought of his wife.  
  
"Shenlon. That Nataku is too weak to protect this Dragon Clan."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Somewhere in Jess brain, a vein popped.  
  
'Never mind Jess. He's just upset . . .' Jess reasoned with herself, taking deep breaths to calm herself.  
  
"And not to mention. You're very annoying right now," Duo's voice continued at the other side of the door.  
  
Another two veins popped.  
  
'Cool down. It's okay . . . it's okay . . ." Jess thought as her she unconsciously balled her hands into fists.  
  
"No wonder Wufei hates girls. I must say he honestly right about it," Duo went on, innocent of the danger he was slowly raising on the other side of the door.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Uh oh," Heero muttered.  
  
"What?" Quatre asked, pausing his recital. Heero's face look very serious.  
  
"Danger."  
  
"She touched his door?" Quatre asked, his worry going on high.  
  
"Bad vibes."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Jess."  
  
"Oh. So . . . what do I do?" Quatre asked, unsure why Heero was making such a big deal of this.  
  
"Start reciting. Include Duo's name."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Jess was now seeing red.  
  
"Come to think of it, you're very bothersome. Don't you girls have something better to do? Like playing with clothes, putting on makeup or something?" Duo asked, playing with his pigtail end, twirling it round his finger as his mind worked furiously on getting rid of the girl outside his door. His mind suddenly clicked on an idea. Wufei got rid of girls by being blatantly honest and insulting towards them.  
  
"Of course doing those things may help improve a girl's appearance . . . but for you, it probably do the opposite!" he shouted, making certain she would hear this sentence. He waited. Silence on the other side of the door greeted him.  
  
'Did she go?' he thought as he slowly sat up on the bed. 'Perhaps I was being too mean to her . . .'  
  
Jess took a deep breath as the effect of the last sentence slowly sank into her head. Somewhere around the corridor, her mind dimly registered that Quatre had started reciting the Egyptian recital for the dead louder.  
  
'Ok . . . that does it!' the evil voice in her mind shouted. 'NO more Miss Nice!!'  
  
"If you are not out here in five seconds flat, Duo," Jess began in very honeyed tones, "I will start bleaching your clothes and dyeing them PINK!"  
  
A snort from the other side of the door. From the corridor, the recital stopped with a slight "ack!" before continuing after a slight pause.  
  
"I will go to the garage and start making bombs like the time you taught me too!" Jess continued, shouting in an attempt to get her point through the thick skull Duo seemed to have. A clutter behind her signaled that Heero had dropped his gun. A side-glance showed that his mouth had dropped open as well. Meanwhile the recital was slowly trailing off and the voice itself quivered from time to time.  
  
"And I will personally dismantle DEATHSCYTHE myself! And . . . and use it on the other Gundams, including Wufei's!" The recital stopped. So did everything else.  
  
"I want to object." Quatre's voice squeaked from behind the corridor. Heero was viciously nodding his head in agreement. Only Trowa remained silent. In fact, he looked very thoughtful, like the idea appealed to him somehow.  
  
'Must be eying something of Duo's,' Jess concluded as she shrugged her shoulders while returning her concentration to the door. 'Oh well, this should do it.'  
  
Then Duo started laughing. It was so unexpected that Jess was taken aback.  
  
"You can try," he said in rather oily tones, "But Deathscythe is equipped with fingerprints, voice, weight and secret codes recognition system. If you try to even remove a screw, be prepared to be blown up together with the rest of the ship."  
  
"The garage, on the other hand," he continued with the same oily confident tones, "Needs my codes and my fingerprints as well. You're hardly equip with technical knowledge, much less the skills you need to hack to open the door. The closest one with the possibility to even crack the first code is Heero but I doubt he'll so much as lift a finger to help your madness."  
  
"And last but not least, to dye my clothes pink will not be easy. You have to come into my room to get them, which you can't!" Duo happily finished in a mocking singsong voice.  
  
The rest of Jess brain popped.  
  
"Why you %R%&*6^$%$%$#%^&*@#%&Y!%@#@ idoitic, guy! (Beep! Beep! beep! Beep! Beep!) [You get the idea] Fine! Stay in there! Starve! Die! Don't come . . . Opps!" Jess stopped in the middle of her tirade; her big toe had just kicked the door.  
  
The door gave out a * tu-do * sound.  
  
'Uh oh.'  
  
A panel in front of her face slid opened, revealing a board with the words: "look here!" in bold letters with an arrow pointing to a tube below it.  
  
'Huh?'  
  
Jess blinked her eyes. She expected to be more likely "fried" along those lines.  
  
'What in the world . . .?' Jess didn't get to finish her thought. A sudden weight tackled her from the side, a split second before fire spewed out from the tube, hitting the opposite wall where her face would have been a moment ago.  
  
Jess went down screaming. Then her world faded to black.  
  
For the second time in her whole entire short life, Jess fainted.  
  
Author's Proclamation: That was a good one. Should nap more often before writing. Get my brain juices going. :] Oh well, have a pleasant two weeks ahead before the next update! 


	26. Defiance and Obedience

AN: Ok, just napped finished and inspiration on my fingertips. Let's get the ball rolling as usual. I also like to apologise for this late chapter. I had to see to the orientation and bringing in freshies into my club, while managing a part time job on the other hand. It's suppose to be the school holidays!!! Why am I so busy??!!!  
  
I like to dedicate this chapter to: Cloud, Tari of Nargothrond, ShiniNekoGrl, Cactuskitty, Herald Mistylennan (sorry about your previous reviews), Dream Keeper, cryearthstearsfalltou, Death's little side kick, Arianna, Silent Fear, Kuria, Magicia Wiseskill and DragonGirl! Thanks for your reviews!  
  
And we have newcomers: Hello to yami blue eyes white dragon and Rhys! Thanks for reviewing too! Welcome to the family of readers!  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 26  
  
Wufei gently turned the page of his book as he lazed on the couch, feeling the old peacefulness seep into his bones. His wife wasn't at home to make trouble for him; she was somewhere out there, most likely practicing her martial arts and he was given the option to order take-out lunch. A relief from her still terrible tasting meals but Wufei had to admit she was improving. At least now they weren't cancer causing, burnt food.  
  
Wufei eyes worked furiously through the page being unsure when she would appear, but in his heart, he hoped that she would be out a LONG time.  
  
'The longer, the better,' he thought as he flipped to the next page.  
  
Suddenly, the couch underneath him shook, causing him to lose his balance and fall off.  
  
'What the . . .' he never got to finish the thought as an earth-shattering explosion started, sounding somewhere to the south, which was quickly followed by another ground-shaking vibration.  
  
This explosion was shortly followed by another series of short explosions, sounding distinctively like machine-guns firing at very high speed and pressure.  
  
'Shit, we're under attack,' Wufei concluded as the forest to the east started burning with bright orange-red flames licking high into the sky, and sirens within the village further up north started screaming.  
  
Getting on his feet and looking through the opened doorway, Wufei could see people from the East and South were quickly appearing and dashing past his hut, heading for the bomb shelters located just North-west from his home, panic evident on every one of their faces. The atmosphere itself was highly charged with fear as chaos reigned.  
  
'Fools. The bomb shelters are too old to be of any protection. You people are just sitting ducks if you go there,' his mind thought but his body started to follow the as-old-as time instinct of safety in numbers. He took a step out, prepared to follow the crowd to the old bomb shelters since its protection was definitely more than what his miserable hut could offer.  
  
Then, suddenly a thought struck him.  
  
'Meiran,' and he repressed a shudder. 'She better have enough brains to get to those bomb shelters or I'm going to yell at her again. That is if she and I survive. . .'  
  
As if on que, the phone started ringing in his house. Wufei paused in his step. They were under attack and someone was calling him. His mind contemplated whether to pick up the phone or run. In the end, curiosity won out.  
  
'This has better be good or if I die, I'll haunt you for the rest of your miserable life. Even if you die!' he thought as he slammed the book on the table while picking the receiver up.  
  
He didn't even get to greet the person. The caller on the other line immediately spoke.  
  
"Wufei! It's your wife! She just came and took one of our Robots to fight the enemy!" Wufei could feel his body go cold, the receiver suddenly glued to his ear as the scientist he had talked to a week earlier continued. "Her constitutions are not up to optimal handling for our robots! She will DIE if she stay due to the pressure and exertion inside the main controls and with the extra weight and pressure from fighting, she won't last long!"  
  
"Hello?" the scientist asked when Wufei continued to keep silent.  
  
"Where?" Wufei finally managed to say after struggling to get himself out of his stupor. He just couldn't believe he had married a REALLY stupid woman.  
  
"Beg your pardon?" the scientist on the other line asked, baffled by his question.  
  
"I said WHERE IS SHE?!" he yelled into the line, feeling at last his old self, with new anxiety and anger, returning.  
  
"To the west, somewhere in the flower field from your house, our tracers . . ." Wufei didn't wait to hear rest of the sentence, he dropped the receiver and dashed out of the house, hoping against all hope that for once, his feathered-brain wife would at least have some common sense to listen to him.  
  
Apparently he arrived at the flower field a few minutes too late. The robot his wife was piloting was surrounded by four other huge foreign robots, and around them, pieces of robots' material lay scattered, definitely from the foreign robots since his wife's robot was still "alive" and moving.  
  
With horror, he watched as his wife suddenly turned on the rocket boosters in her robot and started jetting into the sky, the other robots following suit, creating a hot air current and causing a lot of broken flowers to fly and swirl around him.  
  
'Ah hell,' he thought and gave his two cents worth.  
  
"Stop! You don't have the strength to pilot that! Come back!" he shouted at the sky where his wife was flying up in her robot.  
  
In response, his wife flipped on the darn robot's loudspeakers without pausing in her advancement into space.  
  
"Don't give me orders! This is a fight for justice!" her voice boomed across the sky.  
  
Shock coursed through Wufei and he watched as his wife's robot, together with the others, disappears into the sky.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
3 seconds later, the tube abruptly stopped spewing fire. Then, on the other side, with an oath, death's door slid opened.  
  
Duo came rushing out, a look of deep worry written all over his face.  
  
"JESS! ARE You all . . . right . . ." his words trailed off as he scrambled to a stop in front of his door, his eyes slowly taking in the scenery before him.  
  
To the side, he could see both Heero's and Quatre's heads poking out from around the corner of the passage. In front of him, Trowa lay on top of the girl, evidently the one who saved her life while the girl below, seeming dead to the world, looked otherwise fine minus the burns that he feared his device would have inflicted.  
  
"Oh." was all Duo could say.  
  
No one said anything for the next few seconds.  
  
"Well, I just . . ." Duo began, taking a step backwards into his room.  
  
"NOW!" Heero shouted and all three boys surged forward in an attempt to tackle him.  
  
"Eep!" Duo let out and tried frantically to move fast and hit the button to close the door. However Heero was faster and was already at the doorpost, jamming a small mental sheet into the slit between the door and door slider. The door fizzled with electricity and then died out.  
  
'Shit! Doctor G must have told him how to deactivate my door. Darn it!'  
  
"You guys aren't taking me alive!" he shouted at them as he smoothly dodged Trowa's hand, which was reaching out to grab his shirt collar, "No sir-re!"  
  
From his position, he could see the guys had left the girl lying on the ground, looking very much like a wilted flower and a dead one at that. He suppressed a giggle at the thought.  
  
* Bang! *  
  
A single shot from a gun froze all of them in mid-action. Turning to the sound, everyone found Heero with his gun up in the air. Then he slowly lowered it till it aimed at Duo's head. Then his chest, then his . . .  
  
"Hey! What are you trying to do?!" Duo shouted, as he uncomfortably moved, trying to get out of the gun's range. "I happen to like the way I am now!"  
  
"Hn. Baka." Came Heero's reply and the gun finally aimed at his knee.  
  
"Oh . . ." Quatre finally understood. That earned him a glare from both Heero and Duo.  
  
Trowa rolled his eyes and made a grab for Duo's waist. The co-pilot agilely dodged it and sent him flying onto the bed with a smart whack on the butt.  
  
'Curse the day he hounded Wufei to teach him martial arts!' Trowa thought as he picked himself up from amidst the tangled bed sheets.  
  
* Bang! *  
  
Heero had fired another shot.  
  
Trowa found himself staring at a bullet hole 2 inches away from his face.  
  
"PUT IT AWAY, HEERO!!!!" he bellowed, as he got up. Heero took one look at his face and obediently placed the gun back in its holster. Meanwhile Duo and Quatre had paused in their struggling to stare at his face in shock.  
  
"So you guys aren't going to shoot me anymore right?" Duo questioned, an evil smile slowly snaking up the sides of his mouth.  
  
Then he let loose the kind of hell he was famous for.  
  
Author's Proclamation: That's it for now, leave you in suspense of what'll happen next. :] I promise this time it will be in two weeks time! 


	27. Rising Dragon

AN: Just the usual. Continuing the story. :]  
  
I like to dedicate this chapter to: Kuria, Cloud, TariOfNargothrond, Arianna15, Dream Keeper, yami blue eyes white dragon, Death's little side kick, soulwithwings (I'm really VERY happy and thankful that you're willing to review every chapter you missed), Cactuskitty and DragonGirl! Thank you all so much for sticking with my story and giving me fab reviews! :] * big grin *  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 27  
  
Wufei started running through the field like he had never run before. All because of one unbelievably stupid, idiotic woman, who either has an insane wish to die, or too blind to realize what she was getting herself into.  
  
"Stupid woman!" cursed under his breath as he raced past the many blossoming flowers where he had spent many hours reading secretly.  
  
But despite his anger at her stupidity and at what he was going to do, he still couldn't help feeling incredulous over her behavior.  
  
'How does she think she can uphold justice without any strength?!'  
  
In front of him, the white walls of the nation's finest laboratory loomed up, as if the answer to bring his wife's madness to a rest.  
  
Or his questions to an end.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
As Trowa launched himself at Duo's arm, he found himself with a fist in his face and a boot to his stomach. Without a word, he sank to his knees, arms clutching the injured area around his stomach. Duo had not been a least bit sympathetic in delivering that blow.  
  
'God. He switched to street-fighting mode, survival of the fittest!' Trowa realized as his eyes slowly took in the action happening in front of him.  
  
Quatre had successful caught Duo's left upper arm, but it was not doing him a least bit of good. Duo's concentration was more on fighting Heero, dealing the Japanese pilot blows to the head, legs and stomach while using Quatre's body to shield his own.  
  
'Playing dirty, no right and no wrong . . .'  
  
Trowa painfully struggled to his feet, ignoring the burning sensation in the pit of his stomach. He watched as Quatre was flung like a rag doll, hitting Heero in the sensitive area, before losing his grip on Duo. Both boys fell backwards, looks of pain crossing both their faces.  
  
'We got to stop him!' he decided as he moved forward, narrowly missing a jug with a few wilted lilies, that flew pass his head. He ducked and tackled the long-haired boy around the waist, biting his tongue and ignoring the painful blows he dealt to his back.  
  
Dimly he realized things were being thrown about; the sound of breaking plates, the clash of heavy things hitting the wall, the occasional muttered oaths as the objects found their targets and his comrades on both sides, trying their best to get hold of the boy who was flinging him here and there, fighting like a wild beast with a threat of death over its head.  
  
"Stop this! Duo!" Quatre shouted above the din, somehow missing a silver globet that sailed over his head before clashing onto the floor behind. No doubt courtesy of Duo. "Someone could get hurt!"  
  
"Good!" Duo returned, delivering an underhand blow to Heero's chin, causing the Japanese to stumble backwards, monetarily stunned. "It'll be you!"  
  
More things went flying and the sound of breaking escalated.  
  
"ENOUGH!" someone roared in the background.  
  
All the boys froze in action and turned their attention to the sound of the voice.  
  
Jess stood in the doorway, anger waves practically emitting from her small frame, her whole image resembling a dragon about to spit fire.  
  
And it wasn't hard to understand why.  
  
From the light of the passage, the boys could see a small trickle of blood trailing its way down from the top right of her forehead to her chin.  
  
A vase with wilted lilies lay shattered at her feet.  
  
All the boys swallowed in unison and took a step back.  
  
"Who did this?" Jess asked in a very dangerous soft voice, taking a menacing step into the room.  
  
All hands went up and pointed at Duo. All except Duo's, which went up to point at Quatre.  
  
"Hey. . ." Quatre protested, giving Duo a disapproving look. Duo returned the look back.  
  
The girl started cracking her knuckles.  
  
"Hey Jess," Duo started, taking a light tone and hoping that the girl wasn't really that mad. Dimly, his mind registered that the other co-pilots were falling back, making a crude passage for the girl to get to him.  
  
"Don't "hey Jess" me," the girl responded, unhooking something wicked and thin from her dress. She started to bend it out straight. Duo gulped. That something was beginning to look like a needle.  
  
Duo started to back away from the advancing girl.  
  
"Well now, I wasn't really paying attention to what I was throwing and it was an accident. Really," he said, trying his best to sound easy going and apologetic, which was very hard especially when the girl looked like she'll rather hang him by the toes and beat him till he was flat.  
  
"And I suppose getting fire blowing out at you is an accident," the girl replied monotonously, her face remaining in its really pissed off mode.  
  
"Well . . . that I wasn't . . . expecting . . ."  
  
"And getting almost shot in the leg by Heero's stray bullet is also an accident," Jess continued, cutting off Duo's explanation.  
  
"Shot? Wait! No . . ."  
  
"So I guess being rudely waken by a vase, filled with lilies, and getting wet after getting hurt from the shards flying, is an accident," Jess finished, an unpleasant smile on her face. The back of Duo's legs hit the bed and he sat down in a hurry.  
  
Girl came to a stop in front of him and from this close range; he could see the tiny cuts not only on her forehead but also many lacing her arms and hands. An indication that she had been awake, but probably too weak to do more than protect the portion from her forehead down. And to the left, he could see that the ends of her ponytail were singled and shorter than the other side.  
  
Guilt overwhelmed him, paralyzing him to the bed, and he watched as the girl reached behind and grabbed his pigtail.  
  
"So I guess this is an accident," the girl said, holding the plait in one hand while pressing the needle to his neck. "Kitchen. Now."  
  
Author Proclamation: Funnies next week. Promise. :] 


	28. Dangerous

AN: I'm seating here, typing this because my stupid conscience won't leave me alone, ESPECIALLY when I'm taking a break from everything, telling me it's time to update. If you want, you can thank him. It's all Mind's fault I'm seating here, typing at 10.21 in the night on a nice rainy day that is practically screaming: SLEEP!  
  
To my dedicated reviewers, I like to dedicate this chapter to them. They are: TariOfNargothrond, Cloud, Arianna 15, DeathsDragon, Death's little side kick, yami blue eyes white dragon, Dream Keeper, belle beauty, FuJi Fox (long time no see) and cryearthstearsfalltou! You guys have been cool in giving me your heartfelt reviews. * happy warm feeling * Thanks a lot ! They really mean a lot to me!  
  
And I see a few new ones: Hello Spritely and Yum Yum1! Hopefully you will continue to enjoy my little fic!  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 28  
  
Wufei skidded down the hallway's well-polished metal flooring, running past the exhibition of electro-deviation pods that could help split and enhance the power of solar converted energy either for storage in times of emergencies, or for safe fuel that could be burn for electricity, all the while giving out 5 times more than a block of charcoal could give in it's lifetime.  
  
Swiping the beads of perspiration collecting on his forehead, thanks to the exhausting run in his attempt to get to the laboratory as fast as he could from the flower field, Wufei hastily tore off his outer long-sleeved shirt in his effort to cool his hot and sweaty body. A continuous buzz started from somewhere behind, indicating that his shirt, in his careless attempt to be rid of it, had hit the tripredium device and was now being fried to ash by the hydrolic-laser beams.  
  
'My favorite shirt . . .' was the only fleeting thought he could spare for the by-now-reduced-to-nothing shirt, before his mind click back to focus on the more urgent matter at hand.  
  
'She's going to sew me a new shirt,' at that, Wufei glanced down to look at his sweat-drenched black tank top and white pants, 'And wash these two pieces of clothing! She owes me big time!'  
  
With those two thoughts in mind, he set his teeth firmly together and grimly concentrated on getting to the robot's room as fast as his two legs could carry him, ignoring the continuous ache coming from the leg muscles at the sudden and unfamiliar strenuous exercise.  
  
On reaching the door, he paused in his running to catch his breath and take a good look to see if anything would be an obstacle to his ultimate goal. Surprisingly, the door was already thrown wide open and there was only one person in the room, that person was the bald guy he had talked to a week ago. Wufei pulled himself upright immediately, regulating his breath and composing his face into an unreadable mask. He didn't want the man to catch him in such an undignified composure.  
  
The bald guy looked up, a calm look on his face.  
  
"I've been waiting for you," he said, his face betraying nothing as well.  
  
"I need your robot." Wufei replied and dashed past him to where Shenlong was waiting.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
In the kitchen, five boys and a girl gathered around the kitchen table. All except one were standing, all except one were paying attention to the situation going on in the kitchen, and all except one were NOT enjoying the food laid out on the table.  
  
Jess was holding Duo hostage by his braid, which she held in one hand, and by a pin, which she held to his neck with the other. Next to her, a pair of evil looking, sharp scissors glittered on the table in the bright fluorescent light that illuminated the kitchen; it's purpose quite clear should the threat of the needle fail in any circumstances. Meanwhile, the hostage was holding a large dessertspoon and was doing whatever the girl dictated him to do.  
  
And the girl had only six short sentences, which she used over and over again, to dictate her hostage to her will.  
  
"Take food."  
  
"Open mouth."  
  
"Put food in mouth."  
  
"Close mouth."  
  
"Chew."  
  
"Swallow." These words went on continuously and monotonously as the amount of food on the table shrank.  
  
"Aren't you a little . . . umm . . . mean?" Quatre asked after Duo was forced to polish off the last of the pie Quatre had made for their dessert after dinner that day. Considering how big the pie was, it was no mean feat, even for a glutton like Duo.  
  
His question earned him a really black look from the girl. If her eyes could shoot laser beams, he would be a dead man by now.  
  
"Never mind," came the quick reply and the girl returned her attention back to her hostage and resumed her dictatorship. Seeing the pie was finished, she shifted it away and brought a large strawberry short cake in front of her victim.  
  
On seeing the cake, Duo started burping continuously.  
  
"That's a whole pie and cake she's making him eat . . ." Quatre whispered worriedly to Heero.  
  
"Hn," came the typical reply from Heero when he wasn't feeling committal. Quatre rolled his eyes towards the heavens and gave up.  
  
"I'm full . . ." came the inevitable pleading from Duo after his third mouthful of cake. Turning big, mournful, tear-drenched violet eyes on the girl, that seemed to work so well for him in getting pity from the sisters in his childhood days, he gave her his best imitation of a helpless child in distress.  
  
Jess only response was: "Take food."  
  
"Can I not?" he asked, putting more effort behind his pitiful look.  
  
The girl's face darkened even more and the pressure of the pin on his neck increased. With a startled "yep!" Duo started shoving food hastily into his mouth.  
  
Half an hour later, Jess walked out of the kitchen into the passage, looking VERY satisfied. All the boys watched her go, except for one.  
  
Duo lay half-collapse on his chair, looking half dead to the world, his stomach protruding a very HUGE bulge.  
  
"You think there's any medicine for . . . umm . . . over eating?" Quatre asked tentatively, once he was sure the girl was out of earshot.  
  
All the remaining G-boys took a good look at their comrade in battle.  
  
"Try Sally." Trowa answered.  
  
"Hn." Came Heero's reply before he walked out of the kitchen, an amuse look on his face.  
  
"Is it even safe to move him?" Quatre questioned further, worry evident in his voice.  
  
Trowa did a more intense survey on Duo. Duo lay slumped against his chair, his tongue hanging out at one side and his spoon dangled from his lax hand before falling, cluttering noisily across mental floor upon impact. Meanwhile, Trowa raised a hand and waved it above the vacant violet eyes staring at the ceiling. No response, not even a blink to indicate the rising-hell-bent soul still existed within the body. All in all, Duo looked terrible.  
  
"Well?" Quatre asked when Trowa continued to keep silent, surveying Duo from head to foot.  
  
With that, Trowa straightened up and gave his conclusions.  
  
"Don't worry, he'll survive." And walked out the door after Heero, before Quatre could further question his verdict.  
  
'Don't worry? He'll survive?!??' Quatre thought hysterically, 'how did he get to that?!' Looking at Duo for the umpteen time, Quatre felt all the more unconvinced by Trowa's assurance. His empathetic spirit flared up bright within him at the thought of the other pilots' uncaring attitude and responses they gave him.  
  
'All the more I must help him! I mustn't give up!'  
  
"You know, I heard water helps digestion. You want some?" he asked the pathetic long haired American pilot, his protective and motherly nature kicking into full force within him.  
  
* Bech! * Came the only response to his question before the indigested food hit the front of his Damious leather shoes.  
  
Author's Proclamation: Whew, that wraps up the cliffhangers in one go. You guys must be celebrating. Hope you enjoyed the funnies in this chapter. :] Ayako 


	29. To the rescue! Not

AN: I'm back, with a new chapter this time! Bhwa ha ha ha! Going nuts and crazy. Should actually be studying. . .  
  
Now for my wonderful reviews, a salute to: Magica Wisekill, cryearthstearsfalltou, TariOfNargothrond, Arianna 15, Death's little side kick, yami blue eyes white dragon, Dream Keeper, Kuria (thanks for the picture of Jess), belle beauty, Fuji Fox, Yum Yum1 and DeathsDragon.  
  
And I think I see two newcomers! Hello Crystal D. Starlit and Tauhiryo. Or rather nice to see you again back at my little ole fic. Heeheh. I must be rather slow in writing if you can wait a year and come back to read and see me still updating! I apologize to you and all my readers since I'm still in school; therefore I'm able to dedicate all my time to this fic. My heart is willing but time is not.  
  
Look on the bright side, something to look forward to every two weeks and hopefully I can make you all laugh with every chapter and brighten your day! ^ ^v  
  
On with the fic!  
  
Chapter 29  
  
Wufei grabbed the handle firmly in his hand, putting his foot into the foot strap while at the same time giving the rope a firm tug. This activated the robot's miniature lift pulley mechanism and he went shooting up towards the robot's main body controls. Once there, he hopped onto the platform, kicking off the foot strap as he did, and watched for a brief moment as the foot strap and handle continued up to the ceiling of the robot's control room before disappearing into a hidden cove made specially for such storage purposes.  
  
Behind him, he could hear the tired footsteps and whizzing of the bald scientist as he struggled to catch up with Wufei. A loud cough emerged from him once he was at the bottom of the robot's feet. Wufei took no heed of the man, his eyes were too busy scanning the robot's controls.  
  
'This I can do, this I know what to do, this button is most likely for eject, I better not touch it. . .' his mind ticked off, ignoring the man who was now jumping up and down at the robot's feet, clamoring for attention. Once satisfied that his knowledge did indeed cover most of the robot's functioning mechanism, he sat down in the pilot's chair. From his view, he could see the bald scientist white pinched face and took pity on him.  
  
Tilting his chin at the guy, he signaled the scientist that he was listening.  
  
"Shenlong doesn't have any weapons . . ." the guy said uncertainly but without hesitation. Wufei let out a sigh. So this was what the man so wanted to tell him.  
  
"Fine. I'm not fighting for justice," he answered nonchalantly, reaching behind for the restraints.  
  
"Then why are you going?" the bald scientist asked, surprise in his voice.  
  
Focusing all his attention on fasting the many restraints, Wufei answered frustratedly: "Because I'm not such a coward that I can stand by while my wife is killed!"  
  
Once he got the restraints secured around him, Wufei jammed the closure button and waited impatiently as the door firmly closed shut, encasing him in the cockpit of the robot. Once that was finished, he started flipping the many switches and pressing the many buttons, bringing the robot to life. Normally, if he didn't had other pressing matters at hand, Wufei would have marveled at the complex and advanced technology now at his fingertips. But as was such the case, only one thought was going through his mind like a war chant that barbarian warriors usually did before battle.  
  
'Get to Meiran, save her and then kill her! Get to Meiran, save her and then kill her!' the thought went on continuously in Wufei's mind while his body automatically flipped switches and pressed buttons left and right as if he had been in the robot's cockpit all his life.  
  
Then as the robot's full activation was achieved, he searched for an exit in the laboratory. However, the scanners could not detect one to the left or right of him. Switching on the loudspeakers, he asked the scientist who was still standing at the feet of the robot, looking at him open-mouth: "Where's the exit?" His voice boomed across the laboratory.  
  
The bald scientist immediately retreated until he was behind the table at the far end of the lab. Once he was safely behind the overturned table, he pointed upwards.  
  
Using the robot's visual, Wufei found himself staring at a large hole in the ceiling of the laboratory. A VERY large hole with uneven sides.  
  
"Your wife put that there," he heard the scientist say through his robot's sound receptors.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Four guys and a girl gathered around a bed. On the bed, a boy lay there, peacefully sleeping as the world went on around him. Of course, if he WASN'T a gundam pilot, he could happily go on sleeping. But being one and Duo threatening to do something disastrous soon, the sleeping just had to stop.  
  
That was why the girl was there.  
  
Jess folded her arms and gave every single one of the AWAKE pilots a good glare.  
  
Heero just looked away.  
  
Quatre shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked down at the sleeping boy.  
  
Trowa kept expressionless like a rock, looking as if it was perfectly normal for her to glare.  
  
While Duo gave her a wide cheeky grin, his front teeth shining white in the bright fluorescent sickbay light.  
  
"Why am I here?" she asked finally, raising a delicate eyebrow at them. The pilots looked at each other silently. All of them were standing directly across the bed, facing her while keeping their distance.  
  
Then, as if as one, all the other three pilots focused their attention on Quatre.  
  
"Well . . . umm . . . we thought since you actually manage to get Duo out of his room and all . . . and umm . . . Wufei being . . . married . . ." Quatre's began his explanation but it soon trailed off. The girl had started directing a murderous glare at him. Immediately, the blond swallowed the rest of his words and resumed looking at the sleeping boy.  
  
"I ask again. Why am I here?"  
  
No one said anything for the next few minutes.  
  
"Ah hack," Duo finally volunteered, rapidly getting bored of the situation. "Just pretend to be his wife."  
  
Silence reigned again for the next few minutes once the words were out of his mouth; Jess looking dumbfound at Duo, while the rest of the boys continued to look elsewhere and everywhere, except at the girl. Then, the girl let loose her wrath.  
  
"How the HELL am I SUPPOSE to do that?!!?!" she shouted, her countenance suddenly seeming to grow huge and intimidating. "I don't even KNOW the girl!!!!"  
  
Duo tugged at his collar. He could practically see the flames blowing out from behind her.  
  
"Heero?" he asked, looking pleadingly at the messy brown haired guy.  
  
"Leave me out ." Heero replied stonily, retreating a few steps back.  
  
Meanwhile, Quatre had jumped to his feet and was mumbling something about refreshments while making a straight beeline for the door. Trowa, on the other hand, followed leisurely behind, pausing to give Duo a glance before disappearing through the doorway.  
  
'Cowards,' Duo thought and then wished he had done the same.  
  
"Well?" the girl questioned, giving him the "dangerous" look. The kind that said: "I-pull-the-pin-on-you-if-your-answer's-not-good" kind of look.  
  
Duo decided he was too near the girl. He took a step back. Then two. Closer to the door would be good for his health.  
  
"Well. . . umm . . . Heero can find some records on her for you to read . . ." he said finally after some serious thinking. The door was now within a meter's reach from where he was standing.  
  
* Click! * Heero was pointing his ole trusty gun at his head.  
  
"I repeat. Leave me out." Heero answered, this time directing his answer at Jess, before removing his gun from Duo's head and keeping it in its holster underneath his shirt. Once that was accomplished, he stiffly marched out of the room.  
  
Duo watched Heero leave the room, cursing him all kinds of languages in his mind. Then looking at the girl, whose expression right now resembled the time after she was rudely awaken by the vase of wilted lilies shattering in front of her face, Duo gulped.  
  
'Better move closer to the door now . . .'  
  
His thought was interrupted by a loud click coming from the door.  
  
'Holy SHIT!!!' he mentally cursed as his mind registered that Heero had just taken one step ahead and locked the door behind him, trapping him in the room with the girl.  
  
His attention shifted to the girl again and he watched in horror as the girl removed a long and evil looking pin from her hair, the end as sharp and pointy as a needle.  
  
"Now talk," the girl commanded, an evil grin spreading across her face.  
  
Author's Proclamation: Bhwa hahaha ah ha ha . . . Ouch. Stitch. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Poor Duo but Jess will be having it worse later on in the fic! :] 


	30. Fair exchange

AN: Hello! Nice to see you people again. Me here just finished school and it's great to be home; relaxing when you know there's no school tomorrow. Finally, the day I have been waiting for. Sorry about this chapter being so late and all. Me in charge of the Halloween planning committee for my club.  
  
But first, thanks to all my lovely reviewers for writing again. This chapter goes out to: yami blue eyes white dragon, Arianna 15, DeathsDragon (hope your flu is better), TariOfNargothrod, Kuria, Dream Keeper and Death's little side kick!  
  
To my dear cryearthstearsfalltou, I appreciate your criticism and all ask from you is to be patient. This fic has a preordained path to take and it'll be quite a while before you see why it has to happen this way. Thank you very much for your sincere review. :]  
  
And I see two newcomers! Hello: lieutenant and Dianas-Lotus! Thanks for your sweet reviews. :]  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 30  
  
Blasting into space was quite an experience. Wufei could feel his eardrums strain under the pressure as the robot gained altitude, and sucked in a deep breath to ease the compression.  
  
However, once he was pass the clouds and was flying into black open space, the pressure immediately disappeared as zero gravity began to take over.  
  
'I can get use to this,' he thought, surveying his surroundings with the robot's visual scanner. Then something stopped his blood cold.  
  
He could see below Shenlong, a group of Mobile suits with metal canisters between them was heading towards his colony. On the side, in bold red letters, YO-448 was printed on its silver surface.  
  
"What's that? Germ warfare?!" Horror surged up as realization of how lethal the contents of the metal containers could be, dawned on him.  
  
'The Federation and OZ will go this far?'  
  
Then a small voice whispered the answer: 'Yes!'  
  
"Bastards!!!!" he shouted, letting his anger take over. He then moved his robot swiftly towards the group, smashing the first one in the face while pulling out the wires of another from its back. They didn't realize he was among them till he finished the third by putting a hole through its head with Shenlong's extendable arm.  
  
By then, the other two had exploded, leaving only three more to finish off. Wufei allowed a small smile to travel up the side of his mouth. He was going to make them die like the way they were planning to make his people die: slowly.  
  
"Why you . . ." one of the men in the robots began, but he never got to finish the sentence. Wufei shot a blast of the gun into the chest of the robot where the pilot cockpit was, ending the life of the man and the robot effectively while pushing another robot into it before it blew up.  
  
'Two down, last one to go,' he thought, looking at the remaining robot that had decided to abandon the metal canisters and run for its life. Wufei decided to give that one a head start.  
  
'1 . . . 2 . . .3 . . . 5 . . . 9 . . .10! Good enough for you!' he thought and turned on the Shenlong's fire blasters, catching up to the fleeing robot within a blink of an eye. Maneuvering to the front of the robot, he waited with patience.  
  
The man, unable to stop the robot's advance due to the lack of time and the short distance, tried his best effort anyway. Wufei knew he could read his own doom and ravished the feeling of it.  
  
'Too late,' Wufei thought as the guy turned on the front blasters of his robot to slow the advancement, and raised Shenlong's metal arm. The Mobile suit went crashing into it, putting a hole into its own head. Then after a short moment pause, the whole Mobile Suit blew up into a ball of flame.  
  
'Nice,' Wufei thought, pulling back the arm and giving it a quick look once over. 'Not bad at all . . . not a single scratch. Must be the indestructible gundam metal . . . '  
  
'Meiran . . .' a small voice whispered, snapping him back to the mission he had first focused on.  
  
"Shit," he cursed under his breath and blasted to where Meiran and the other Mobile Suits were fighting.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Finally all the boys were gathered back at the clinic cubicle again. Jess and Duo standing at one side of the bed, nearest to the windows; the remaining four guys crowding at the other side, all looking calm despite a tense atmosphere hanging heavily in the air.  
  
For refreshments, a huge pile of breadsticks occupied the tiny table situated at the foot of the bed, hovering dangerously over a large jug of orange juice, all courtesy of Quatre and Trowa. And everyone was slowly chewing breadsticks and drinking orange juice from the glasses provided.  
  
All except Duo.  
  
He was sulking at the corner of the bedpost, looking like the world had done him a really big injustice, which wasn't hard to see why. Jess held him prisoner by holding a long and sharp pin to his neck in her right hand; and a breadstick in the other, chewing it slowly as if savoring the taste.  
  
Fact 1: Duo is a glutton.  
  
Fact 2: Duo hates pins.  
  
'This doesn't look good . . .' Trowa thought as he observed Duo's face turning thunderous finally after a good few minutes had passed without anyone bothering to offer him any food.  
  
Meanwhile, Quatre moved the pile of breadsticks closer to himself.  
  
Heero's hand started fingering the edge of his shirt.  
  
But everything happened way faster than anyone would have anticipated it.  
  
Duo, reaching his climax, shot up his left hand and smacked the offending hand away, sending the pin flying towards the opposite wall. Then he surged forward with his right hand outstretched, reaching to hit the crucial point on Jess's chest to stun her.  
  
Heero's hand immediately moved to clutch the gun's body underneath his shirt.  
  
Jess, however, immediately dropped the breadstick she was holding and reached behind; whipping out another identical pin from her bun and held it to the American boy's neck, while turning slightly to the side to avoid a direct hit.  
  
Duo's hand missed it target, stopping just one millimeter away from her breast. Heero's gun finally came out and focused on Duo's head.  
  
Trowa blinked.  
  
Jess's bun unfurled, dropping the last remaining pin on the ground while showing the uneven hair length on both sides.  
  
'That was fast . . .'  
  
The dull "clank" of the pin hitting the tiled floor echoed loudly through the silent room.  
  
Quatre pushed the pile of breadsticks back to the middle of the table.  
  
"Darn it!" Duo cursed while Jess broke into a huge grin.  
  
Moving his eyes to the side, he gave Heero a good glare with one eye.  
  
"You're suppose to be on my side," he accusingly said to the Japanese Boy.  
  
"We need her," the messy brown-haired boy calmly replied as he released his focus on Duo and returned his gun to its place underneath his shirt.  
  
"Well! That's just plain dirty," he spoke, throwing a meaningful glare in the girl's direction.  
  
"Alls fair in love and war," she answered before surprising him by plucking a breadstick off the pile and handing it to him. "Besides, you never play straight."  
  
"Aww . . . man. You can hurt a man's heart with your cold words," Duo joked, returning to his normal self now a breadstick was in his hands and the girl was removing the pin from his neck.  
  
"I see no man, just a boy," came the swift answer and Jess picked the forgotten pin from the floor and retied her hair. "You'll heal fast I'm sure."  
  
"Now lets negotiate," she continued once her hair was back in its prim and proper bun. "You expect me to be his wife."  
  
"Yeah," Heero answered, looking at her in his expressionless way.  
  
"It won't come free."  
  
"We kinda expected that," Duo replied between mouthfuls of breadstick.  
  
"It won't come cheap."  
  
"Shouldn't be a problem," Quatre returned, his hand reaching into his back pocket where his wallet rested.  
  
"And it ain't money."  
  
Time stopped still for the people in the room. Not a single breath stirred, nor a single muscle moved, as the boys remained frozen in their state of shock.  
  
All except one.  
  
Trowa took another sip of his orange juice before setting the glass gently on the table.  
  
"Hopin' you weren't going to say that," he finally concluded for the rest when no one spoke. 


	31. Starting

AN: Hello people and yes, the weekend is finally here. Wah. . . I still have a lot of homework to catch up on . . . I still have a lot of work that is half finished! Arghhhhh! This is the main reason why this chapter is late.  
  
But first, I like to thank my reviewers: Arianna 15, TariOfNargothrond, cryearthstearsfalltou, Death's little side kick, yami blue eyes white dragon, DeathsDragon, Yum Yum 1 and Kuria. You guys really make my day. It makes it all the more worth while to write! :]  
  
And Wow: four more new reviewers! Greetings to LoveBuggie, Yume Keki, SpicyHollyElf and Eve Maxwell! This is a new record. :] Thank you so much for reviewing.  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 31  
  
By the time Wufei got to his wife, other mobile suits from the enemy side had already surrounded her.  
  
'Stupid!' he mentally gave himself a kick. 'I should have went straight to help her!'  
  
"Haaaa!" he shouted as he sliced up a mobile suit nearest to him, effectively creating a pass for him to reach his wife side. His frequency radio flickered to life.  
  
"Wu - Wufei . . ." her voice spoke as her face appeared on a small portion of his top left-side screen. From the tiny picture, Wufei could see a trickle of blood slowly making it's way down the right side of her chin. Alarm bells went off in his head.  
  
"Leave this to me!" he shouted at her while maneuvering in front of her mobile suit, taking some shots for her. Up close he could see that the suit was in badly need of repair; it wouldn't be able to last another mobile attack. A pang of guilt ran through him. His robot was hardly scratched even though he went into the battle only a few minutes later after her departure.  
  
"Wufei!" He could see that she was going to start protesting and hurried to cut her off.  
  
Only that the words were suddenly stuck in his throat. He couldn't say anything for the way everything was situated, from Meiran's sudden departure to the lab where he took Shenlong, up till now where each Mobile Suit was stationed exactly as if he had seen it somewhere before, was just too familiar. The feeling of Deja vu issued forth from his heart. Somehow, he had a feeling he had seen all these things somewhere before and whatever was going to happen next was making him feel uneasy.  
  
"Wufei?" his wife was looking at him quizzically. "Are you ok?"  
  
Meanwhile, his robot shook from taking some more shots in the back.  
  
"I . . . I . . ." He was suddenly finding it difficult even to form a single coherent thought, let alone a plan to help them both survive. The words "Don't say it!" were the only things racing through his mind and funny, for the life of him, he didn't want to say the words that would send his wife back to safety and establish his authority as the man of the household.  
  
"Go on, say it." A voice from behind his seat spoke. Wufei whipped his head around and would have jumped three feet into the air from his seat if it weren't for the restrains. Meiran was standing calmly behind his chair, looking at him rather expectantly.  
  
Whipping his head back to the front, he could see Meiran's face peering at him from her tiny portion of the screen, looking anxiously at him.  
  
"Wufei, what are you doing? Are you fighting or not?" the tiny face asked. As if to add truth to her words, his robot shook terribly from the impact as more of the enemy mobile suits fired at him.  
  
But suddenly, the war seemed rather small to the problem he was having in his cockpit. Turning his head slowly back, in hopes that maybe the Meiran in the cockpit was a figment of his imagination, he took a good look.  
  
Luck was not on his side. Meiran stood behind his chair, clear as ever, with folded arms to indicate she was slightly irritated.  
  
"You HAVE to say it. She has to die," Meiran stressed as she shot him an impatient look.  
  
Turning his head slowly back to the front, he noticed the same look of impatience beginning on Meiran's face in the screen.  
  
"Sorry to interrupt your daydreams, bookworm, but we're in a middle of a war," Meiran in the screen said icily, shooting the same impatient look her twin shot at him.  
  
Wufei covered his face with his hands and started messaging the bridge of his nose slowly.  
  
"O wo de shen (O my god)," he whispered as he messaged, "protect me. My robot's haunted."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"So what are you proposing?" Quatre asked once he got back his wind. His face appeared calm but as he picked up his glass of orange juice, the ice within rattled noisily against the sides of the glass.  
  
Jess eyebrows shot up.  
  
'Interesting . . .' she mused and allowed herself a small evil smile.  
  
"Oh, lets start with Heero," she answered and focused her attention on the messy brown-haired boy.  
  
Other than swallowing hard, the Japanese boy managed to keep his face expressionless.  
  
Sliding up to his co-pilot, Duo whispered cheekily in his ear: "It's going to be horrible . . ." then doubled up with pain from the jab Heero delivered to his middle.  
  
"Get on with it," Heero stonily said, mentally preparing himself for the worst.  
  
His brain went to work, listing all the people she could want him to assassinate. However, the options weren't looking good. As far as she was concerned, the only people she ever had contact with: were them and the people on the ship.  
  
But Jess kept silent, contemplating him in a rather serious way.  
  
His mind started listing all the places Releena wouldn't visit should the crazy girl in front of him wanted a date.  
  
"Well?" Duo plodded the girl when the silence stretched on, the girl continuing to stare at Heero like he was some interesting specimen. "What is it?"  
  
"Ok," the girl finally broke her silence, blinking as if coming out of a trance. "I want him to smile."  
  
For a moment, no one said anything. They were all too shocked to even think.  
  
"Could . . . could you repeat that?" Heero asked politely, his eyes opening so wide that they seemed to swallow his face. Meanwhile, thoughts like: 'How can it be? I must have heard it wrong!' were zooming around in his head, flashing in and out of his conscience faster than he could formulate any rational thought.  
  
"I said I want you to smile," the girl answered in a matter-of-fact way.  
  
"To smile," Heero repeated after her, his ears hardly believing his good fortune.  
  
"To smile?" Duo echoed, on his face was a mixture of disbelievment and disappointment.  
  
"YES! To smile." the girl expounded, annoyance appearing on her face.  
  
'Yahoo!' Heero's heart leaped up for joy and relief that the girl wasn't that insane. Maybe a little insane but in a good sense.  
  
Quickly he did as the girl requested before she changed her mind.  
  
"No, no! That's not it," the girl said once she got a good look at his face, complete with a smile. Heero promptly lost his smile.  
  
"What's not it?" Quatre blurt out the question that everyone in the room wanted to know. Heero nodded, his face back to being serious.  
  
"His smile . . . It's all wrong!"  
  
"How . . . how can a smile be wrong?" Quatre politely asked once he got back his composure. Everybody in the room nodded their agreement.  
  
"Well . . ." the girl hesitantly answered, looking down at the ground, "Heero always have one side of his mouth curving up, like he's planning something . . . evil." At that, Jess stole a quick look at Heero. So did everyone else in the room who were awake. "I've seen that expression before."  
  
But Heero was disturbed. Very disturbed. He always thought that his smile was fine, until now. He was also willing to wager he was the first person in the entire universe to be criticized on smiling wrong.  
  
"Then what constitutes as a normal smile?" he finally asked after some serious thinking, all of which left him with no idea of what she was requesting.  
  
" Ummm. . . Two sides of your mouth going up and out . . . and a bit of teeth showing.  
  
"Hn," came the reply, "Piece of cake."  
  
Heero immediately fulfilled the description and waited as every one of the awake Gundam Pilots and the girl stared at him.  
  
'Perfect,' he thought and waited for the compliment to follow.  
  
But the silence went on.  
  
"Well?" he finally questioned, feeling unease build up as everyone continued to stare at him wide-eyed.  
  
"That's no a smile, that's a grimace," Trowa finally concluded when no one else seemed capable of speech at that point in time.  
  
Heat rushed to Heero's cheeks.  
  
'Okay, if you don't succeed at first, try again,' he thought and restructured a bit on his smile.  
  
"Now you look like you're having a tummy ache while Doctor J is grinding you on the next important mission you have to do," Duo offered happily, seeming to enjoy himself immensely at Heero's expense. The huge grin was back on his face, stretching from ear to ear.  
  
'Okay . . .'  
  
"No good, you now look like you swallowed a cockroach or something equally disgusting," the girl commented this time, a look of displeasure beginning to appear on her face.  
  
"Puh . . .," went Trowa and he turned around to face the wall, his back towards them while his hands covered his face.  
  
'No way . . . did he . . .?' Heero's thought was abruptly cut short for the girl had opened her mouth to say something.  
  
"You know, if you can't do it, I could always find something else for you to do . . ." she said, looking at him uncertainly.  
  
"No!" Heero shouted at her, forgetting his cool in his hurry to head off that dangerous train of thought. "I can do it, I can do it! How's this?" And he smiled, or at least tried to.  
  
"Too much teeth, smile's too big," the judgment promptly came.  
  
"Or this?!"  
  
"Nope, you look like you have constipation and a toothache."  
  
"Orange, Heero?" Quatre innocently asked, holding out a glass of orange juice to him. That earned him a seething glare from Heero.  
  
"Never mind," Quatre quickly muttered and sipped the glass of orange juice himself.  
  
Author's Proclamation: Maybe I'll be putting up the next chapter after this soon. I have to see my timing. 


	32. Getting there

AN: Because I know I'm late, here is the next chapter which I'm suppose to upload this week. Sigh. . .  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 31  
  
"Come on, say it!" The Meiran in his cockpit shouted into Wufei's ear. "Send her off. Make her DIE!"  
  
Wufei stopped messaging the bridge of his nose and looked at the Meiran in his cockpit. She had now stepped forward and was standing beside his chair instead of behind it. Wufei felt like grabbing her by the neck and shaking her, but thought better of it. You can't touch ghosts and even if you could, the last thing he wanted was a ghost, who looked and spoke like his real wife, haunting him. One was more than enough for him, thank you.  
  
But then, how can spirits be real? His mom and dad died in that old flooding accident of long ago and yet they didn't even visit him once. And his wife was alive, looking at him from his screen viewer, safely in her cockpit. So how could she be in HIS cockpit? There was only one possible explanation for this.  
  
"Listen you, I don't believe in ghosts and you are in the way of science. You're not suppose to exist!" he told the ghost beside his chair.  
  
"Oh yeah, then why am I here?" the ghost questioned, putting her hands on her hips and shooting him a superior look.  
  
"Simple, you are the cause of the war, my wife constant nagging to fight and the extreme stress that I face in trying to get her and me to survive this battle. You are a hallucination of my poor overworked brain." Wufei felt stupid explaining such logical things to a figment of his imagination but then, if researches were true, the hallucination would disappear once he had reasoned things out for himself.  
  
Then he shot an angry glare at his wife in the screen.  
  
"What's that glare for?" His wife demanded, shooting back the same angry glare at him  
  
"I blame you."  
  
"For what? For this war? You're nuts!"  
  
"Trust me, I'm not," he replied before shooting the same angry glare at the ghost in his cockpit, willing her with all his might to disappear.  
  
"You know, if you don't like to fight this much, then go!" his wife commanded, causing him to return his attention to her. "Now out of my way!"  
  
"Don't be stupid! I'm not blaming you for that!"  
  
"Like real you're not. In the past few minutes, all you've done is allow them to shoot at you instead of fighting."  
  
"I'm shielding you woman. Know your limit or at least your robot!" Wufei bitterly answered, feeling all the more angry since he was in a dilemma whether to send his wife back to safety or allow her to stay and fight with him. If she stayed, her robot might not handle another few more blasts from those laser guns the enemy held. If she went, a nagging feeling told him that would probably be the last time he'll see her.  
  
"Will you just get it over with?" the ghost spoke to him, rolling her eyes upwards to the heavens as his wife would when she was frustrated. "Whatever you choose isn't going to change anything."  
  
"As if you know the future. Now shut up and disappear." he muttered to her between clutched teeth, his wife was already looking at him funnily. "I got real matters to handle, unlike you."  
  
At which, the ghost leaned down and whispered in his ear: "News flash for you, my dear husband. You got it backwards. I am real and this isn't the future. It's the past."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Half an hour later, Heero opted for the washbasin to practice a "normal" smile. Not that he really cared whether smiling his smile wasn't exactly as what the girl had in mind, but he was certain it was definitely easier than whatever the girl was going to ask next.  
  
Plus, it served as an excellent escape from the girl's sarcastic remarks and the continuous jackal laughter that wouldn't stop even with threats of death. The American boy just couldn't stop laughing even after his head was dunked in the large jug of orange juice. Instead, large quantity of air bubbles burst to the surface and Heero had to pull back the boy's head least he drowned instead.  
  
'Oh well,' he grudgingly admitted after seeing his own reflection of his face, complete with his typical smile, in the mirror hanging above the basin in the adjacent clinic bathroom. 'She's got a point. But how the hell does she want me to smile normal when I'm in a situation that's ain't normal?!? For goodness sake, I'm a sabotagist, not a normal person.'  
  
Meanwhile, unaware of Heero's dilemma in the bathroom, Jess surveyed the remaining pilots in front of her.  
  
Neither Quatre nor Trowa had lost their tension or unease that cloaked them thickly in the air like an ominous presence.  
  
But Duo, he was grinning from ear to ear, clearly enjoying himself. Even the manic gleam was back in his eyes, the sign of mischief just waiting to happen.  
  
Jess opened her mouth to speak, but she was forced to remain silent for Quatre had chosen that moment to take a deep swallow of his drink, and inevitably choked on it. On seeing Quatre's difficulty, Trowa immediately reacted by patting the small blond on the back to ease the coughing and hacking that shook his body. However his full attention was not on the blond he was helping but on the girl who was waiting for the coughing to subside.  
  
Only Wufei continued to sleep peacefully, unaware of the tight atmosphere surrounding his bed and the danger he was in once the girl completed her negotiations.  
  
Once the blond brought his coughing under control, Jess was ready to give her new victim instructions.  
  
"Quatre," she said gently, but the boy belched at hearing his name issue forth from her lips and stood straighter. Jess rolled her eyes. What she had planned wasn't going to kill him.  
  
Ignoring the reaction from the boy, she continued: "I need you to help me buy something."  
  
Then, before her very eyes, a miracle happened. The boy relaxed and began to look more confident. Jess blinked but the appearance did not change. In fact, she was almost certain she saw a look of contempt flash briefly across his face. However it happened so fast she couldn't be sure.  
  
But whatever she saw was now replaced by a cold and calculating look, as if he was striking a business proposition with another businessman. Even the small smile he had on his lips, had a hard and bitter edge to it.  
  
Jess shivered. Sure, the blue eyes, blond hair and fair skin were the same but somehow, the blond looked totally uncharacteristic of the kind, warm-hearted, blunder-headed Quatre she had come to know. It was like the blond had did a complete three hundred and sixty degree turn in personality and whoever she was facing now was a completely different person.  
  
"Fine," he spoke, his voice clipped and business-like, "I've got the money to spare. What do you want?"  
  
"Well, I'll just tell Sally the things I need and she'll tell you the amount to pay," Jess quickly said. She suddenly had a pretty good idea what the blond was thinking.  
  
"What for? I'm here, just tell me," the voice that said that was cool and even, but the eyes that surveyed her were filled with disgust. "If it's gold you want, I can get the best quality for you."  
  
"No, I don't want . . ." Jess began to defend herself but she was cut off by Quatre's questioning.  
  
"Diamonds? No problem. After all, I'm one of the richest people in the universe."  
  
"No, it's not that!" Jess retorted, feeling her temper rise up to her head from the boy's unfair accusations. "It better for us if I just told Sally what I want. Really."  
  
"Rubies? Emeralds?" Quatre continued as if he didn't hear a word she said, cocking a skeptical eyebrow at her. "Come now, we all know now you aren't that shy a girl to ask me to buy things for you."  
  
"I don't care about . . ." Jess grinded out, her patience at its end. But Quatre relentlessly went on.  
  
"Oh, you're eyeing more money than that. Perhaps a substantial income like one of my black oil fields I presume? Or is it . . ."  
  
Jess has had it. If the guy wanted to know so badly, then so be it!  
  
"BRA, PANTIES, TOWELS, PAD, PANTILINERS, SOAP, TOOTHBRUSH, TOOTHPASTE, Do I need to say MORE?!??!!" she shouted over the dean Quatre was making, uncaring whether all three guys' mouth had dropped open with shock before turning tomato-red, Quatre's face being the reddest of them all, or that her cheeks were burning scarlet with embarrassment over the things she said.  
  
Silence greeted her question-cum-answer once she ended her tirade. A clutter issuing from the inside the adjacent clinic bathroom indicated that Heero had heard too and was now in shock like the rest, who were staring at her in muted silence.  
  
Jess suddenly wished that the ground would open and swallow her.  
  
After a while, Quatre tried to answer her, his face going redder from the effort. But in the end, the only word that could come out of his mouth was a small: "Oh."  
  
For once in his life, the cool, calm businessman was stunned speechless and terribly embarrassed.  
  
"So you want to buy those staff for me? I suggest you do it quickly. I can't wait that long," Jess replied, her cheeks flushing red from embarrassment but her eyes were now looking at him the same way he was regarding her minutes ago.  
  
Quatre swallowed hard. He had brought this upon himself and now it was up to him to solve it.  
  
"Sa . . . Sally should be . . . fine," he struggled out and quickly looked at the ground. Jess was giving him Wufei's death glare, which was really disconcerting, especially when the real one was lying on the bed.  
  
"Can I throw in a sundae for you?" he asked, trying Duo's innocent technique. "And chocolate to sweeten your temper?"  
  
"I'm still not going to forgive you."  
  
"Darn it." Quatre muttered under his breath.  
  
Author's Proclamation: That wraps up any guilt feeling I have now. Yehhhhh! See you guys again in, hopefully, two weeks time. 


	33. Surprise!

AN: I'm sorry I took an unofficial break from this fic but I had to finish the other story I have on another website just so I can concentrate on this one fully. I have completed "Cursed" and if you're interested, you can read it on the website that separated from fanfiction.  
  
(P.S: Not for those who are not romantically inclined.)  
  
But now, for the stars of today, I like to thank those who have reviewed for my fic so far: DeathsDragon, cryearthstearsfalltou, Kuria, yami blue eyes white dragon, Death's little side kick and TariOfNargothrond. *grins very happily*  
  
For the newbies: brass-dragon33 and Dianas-Lotus, thanks for your appreciation of my writing. :]  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 33  
  
"I have no idea what you're saying," Wufei snapped back at the ghost once he got over his shock at what he had just heard. His robot shook some more from the impact of the laser guns, as if testifying the reality of his situation. Him? In the past? Ridiculous!  
  
The ghost rolled her eyes upward.  
  
"You always had that stubborn streak in you. I see it hasn't changed up to this point in time," she commented, folding her arms across her chest and giving him that self-assured look that he so hated. Just like his wife would.  
  
Wufei gulped. This was getting a little disconcerting for his comfort.  
  
"Yeah well, if you don't like it, you can always leave," he muttered, more to himself than to her, turning back to the controls as he said it. "If not, keep quiet."  
  
"Listen you, the real war is out there," she began, but was cut off by Wufei's curt reply: "Woman, I can see that."  
  
"No, what I mean is that you have to get up and get out of here," the ghost argued, frustration clear in her voice. That got his attention and he stared at her.  
  
"You want me to get up and get out of here?" he asked, feeling extremely incredulous. "It may make sense for you, woman, but you are asking ME, a living, breathing human, to walk out into a VACCUUM of outer space in front of a group of eight robots who will shoot me on sight??!"  
  
"If it wakes you up, why not?" the ghost answered, giving him a sweet innocent look. Wufei felt like puking instead. His wife never did innocence before and when he married her, she was far from innocent, more like a tyrant to be exact. This was definitely not his wife.  
  
'Wonderful!' he thought bitterly as he stared at the ghost in silence, 'your wife have successfully got your inner self into thinking of committing suicide.'  
  
"No, I will do no such foolish thing," he told the ghost off frankly in the face, pushing the buttons and concentrating with all his will that the ghost or hallucination did not exists. "I won't give her such satisfaction!"  
  
"Huh?" Meiran was lost. Somewhere along the way, she had lost Wufei's train of thought.  
  
"I will live a longer life than you even if it means I have to put up with you for all eternality," Wufei went on, uncaring if the ghost understood or not. He watched as his robot's tail swung around to bury itself into the stomach of the enemy's robot on his left. "So you can forget your little plan of getting me to kill myself."  
  
Feeling extremely satisfied with his own explanation, he attacked the next robot by burying his robot's hand into its head. His opponent burst into a beautiful riot of colors as it exploded.  
  
Meanwhile, he could hear the ghost gushing her teeth in frustration.  
  
"Will you stop being so stubborn??!!" she shouted, drumming her hands on his head. Surprisingly, he could feel them.  
  
"Ouch! Stop it, that hurts!" he shouted back, trying his best to catch hold of her flailing hands.  
  
"Not until you stop being so stubborn and come back to earth!"  
  
"I can't, I'm in the middle of a war!"  
  
"You're not."  
  
"I am. Are you blind? OUCH!" One of her hands had succeeded in hitting his face. "What are those robots out there? Cheese?"  
  
"No! A figment of your imagination!'  
  
'Now who's the one being ridiculous?' he thought but he was ill at ease because ghosts were insubstantial things. You couldn't feel them. But he could feel this one very well.  
  
But suddenly, Meiran stopped her tantrum. She had just simply stepped back and looked at him. Her eyes and face suddenly unreadable. Wufei waited with bated breath for her to speak. Somehow, he knew she was on the verge of saying something important.  
  
"Fine, if it helps, I'll send her to her death for you," she finally said, pushing the button that activated the communication speaker on his robot, which happened to be behind her.  
  
Then when she spoke next, his voice came out of her mouth.  
  
"Hurry up and get the hell out of here! A wife should listen to her husband!"  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"Three down, two more to go," Duo murmured under his breath. Trowa gave no indication that he heard Duo except for tucking his hands into his trouser pockets.  
  
Quatre, meanwhile, had decided his presence wasn't welcomed anymore and cleaned up the remaining dishes and refreshments, choosing a quick retreat after his humiliating defeat. So right now, only three people of the original six remained in the room, if one decided to exclude Heero in the toilet and Wufei on the bed.  
  
Inevitably, the girl turned her full attention on the two of them, which wasn't very pleasant considering the furious and embarrassing confrontation she just had with Quatre earlier. To say she was angry was an understatement. To be accurate, an evil aura hung about her like a cloak in the air. Duo took a step back. Trowa, on the other hand, remained where he was, face wiped clean of expression as usual.  
  
"You . . .," she said, practically breathing out fire as she addressed the nearest one to her, which was Trowa. Her expression looked ready to kill.  
  
"You . . .,"She repeated but paused. Her face, no doubt, still held the ferocity from the previous negotiations, but underneath that expression, blankness was slowly taking place at some level. More silence passed between them.  
  
The clock on the wall chimed the seventh hour.  
  
Trowa cocked his eyebrow at her.  
  
"Yes?" he asked her politely. Whether it was the calmness in his voice or that Jess was tired of being angry, the furious expression on her face faded off to blankness.  
  
"Umm . . .," Jess stumbled, at a loss for words. For the first time in her life, she didn't know what to ask of him. After a few more minutes of struggling, working her brain to its limit, she gave up thinking.  
  
"Never mind. Just remember you owe me a favor," she conceded, feeling strangely, a little defeated.  
  
Trowa nodded and inclined his head politely towards Duo's direction, his intention clear.  
  
"Hey!" Duo exclaimed, throwing Trowa a disgruntled look.  
  
"Fair," answered Trowa, shrugging his shoulders at the same time.  
  
At that, Duo reluctantly stepped forward to receive his end of the bargain. But not before giving the matter some thought first.  
  
"So . . . what do you want me to do?" he asked finally, a look of discomfort on his face. Unconsciously, his hands started to play with the ends of his pigtail, twirling it expertly between his fingers.  
  
By now, Jess's expression had turned very serious as she took her time contemplating the boy in front of her. The ticking of the clock grew louder as more silence passed between them.  
  
"What?" Duo questioned again, feeling his discomfort heightened as the silence lengthened.  
  
Finally, Jess opened her mouth: "I need you to make me a portal machine."  
  
For a moment, it felt as if time had stopped. The breath caught in both Duo's and Trowa's throats.  
  
Then the clock chimed half an hour pass seven, its musical tunes echoing loudly through the silent room, breaking the reverie that held them in a trace-like state.  
  
"WHAT??!!" Duo shouted, surging forward in disbelief, jumping over the bed in a fluid motion to catch the girl's shoulders and shake. "Have you gone MAD?!?!"  
  
"Duo, stop shaking her. She can't answer you like that." Trowa calmly replied. The girl's head was almost a blur with Duo's frantic shaking.  
  
"Well, I'm hoping to shake some common sense into her," came Duo's swift reply, but he stopped his shaking though he did not let go of the girl's shoulders.  
  
"What's wrong with what I'm asking you?" Jess asked once she managed to stop her teeth from chattering and made certain the world was not shifting around her. "You like doing these kind of engineering stuff, don't you?"  
  
"Yeah, but . . ."  
  
"It's Duo you're asking," Heero's voice cut in. He had poked his head out of the toilet to answer Jess's question. Then, as if on second thought, he flung the door wide open and marched back into the room to join Trowa on his side of the bed. Meanwhile, Trowa's expression had also turned serious.  
  
"So?" Jess was feeling extremely puzzled with the reactions she was receiving from the boys.  
  
"That first test, assuming that he does makes the machine," Trowa explained for Heero while pointing a finger at Duo, "may well me your last."  
  
"Oh, thanks guys. Your faith in me is overwhelming," Duo sarcastically muttered, dropping his hands from the girl's shoulders before striding back to the other side of the bed to join the other two boys.  
  
"You're welcome," Heero answered, smirking when Duo threw him an annoyed look.  
  
"Why didn't you try the doctors?" Trowa asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice. Otherwise his face revealed nothing.  
  
"What's wrong with Duo?" she asked innocently, giving him a blank look.  
  
"Well, for these kind of things . . ." Heero stole a side-long glance at Duo, "You need, ahem. . ., brains."  
  
"What are you saying Hee-chan? Wanna have a taste of my fist?" Duo asked, a malicious grin appearing on his face while he cracked his knuckles.  
  
"Hn. There's a reason why I call you baka," the boy calmly returned, cracking his own knuckles.  
  
"AHEM! Which brings us back to why you didn't ask the doctors," Trowa finished, throwing a quelling look at his two co-pilots. Like magic, both guys lowered their hands to their sides.  
  
But the girl's response was unexpected. Suddenly, she seemed to collapse into herself: her shoulders slumped, her posture no longer stood straight and her expression changed to depression while she shifted her attention from the boys to the floor.  
  
"You think I haven't tried?" she replied after a moment of silence.  
  
The boys looked at each other in uncertainty for a moment but then, nodded in unison.  
  
"You're wrong! I did!" Jess counter-argued, feeling her frustrations build up slowly inside of her. "It just that things tend to go haywire when I do!"  
  
"Like?" Duo popped the inevitable question.  
  
"You know last Sunday, where the ship was only thirty seconds away from self destruction before Heero managed to pull the plug on it?"  
  
"That was YOU??!!" Heero roared in horror. The other two boys had similar expressions of horror entrenched on their faces.  
  
"Yeah well . . . , Doctor J was ignoring me . . ."  
  
"You still have no right to push that button," Heero cut in, anger in his voice while his expression turned thunderous.  
  
"I couldn't help it. Doctor J was praising you guys on how well you all know your machinery and going on about how I should learn from you guys, and I thought I could get his attention by pushing that button . . . You know, impress the old man." Jess desperately tried to explain, to defend herself, as she suddenly found herself facing three very furious guys.  
  
"Oh, you definitely got his attention alright. All of OUR attention, in fact," Trowa coldly stated, his face maybe expressionless but his posture was rigid with tension, showing how angry he was for a guy who could remain calm and relax amidst a raging war. "Self-destruct buttons don't impress. They scare and kill people."  
  
"Hey! The button was big, red and looked . . . pushable! PLUS! It wasn't labeled self-destruct. How was I to know the button was dangerous?! My instincts told me to push it."  
  
"Your instincts are dangerous," Duo commented, folding his arms across his chest. "Mine, on the other hand, aren't as bad."  
  
"No Duo. They're not, they're deadly," Heero retorted, leaning on the bed railings, looking at Wufei sleeping peacefully. "Most of it is attuned to killing even if you don't want to."  
  
"Oh yeah? Prove it!" came the swift challenge, Duo looking highly offended.  
  
Heero lifted his arm and pointed directly across the bed at Jess. "There's your living proof," he calmly replied.  
  
"State your reasons clearly," Duo countered, his eyes practically shooting daggers at the messy brown-haired boy. If looks could kill, Heero should be by now lying in a pool of his own blood.  
  
"Bomb-making."  
  
"That's not counted."  
  
"Yes that is."  
  
"Is not."  
  
"Is too."  
  
"Will both of you shut up?!" Jess sharply said, bringing the argument to an effective end. Right now, precious time was ticking away and those two just seemed to want to waste some more of it by their bickering. "Now, are you going to make me my machine or not?" This question she directed it mainly at Duo.  
  
"Try asking Doctor G. Or even Master O. I'm sure they'll help you. "  
  
Jess closed her eyes and prayed for patience. It was like trying to break a rock with an egg when she was reasoning with these guys.  
  
"Doctor J and Doctor G have barred me from the control and equipment room ever since that accident, and the only way I'm to go in there is for one of you guys to certify that you have taught me and I know my machinery well," Jess spoke slowly, rubbing her forehead to relieve the stress she was experiencing in trying to reason with the boys. "And Master O happens to be on L5 right now, visiting his relations for Chinese New Year."  
  
"Well . . . there are always the mealtimes. . ." Duo offered hopefully, looking at her innocently.  
  
"The Doctors do not have regular mealtimes. They sometimes get so caught up in their work they even forget to eat. And even when they DO remember to eat, they have their food sent up to the control room to eat. One way or another, I can't see them, do you get it?" Jess clutched her hands as she spoke. If this kept up, she was going to start screaming soon. "Now, answer me: will you build my portal machine?"  
  
"What's the hurry? The Doctors will be free to help once this war is over," Duo nonchalantly replied, burying his hands deep into his pant's pockets. "I'm sure they'll be happy to."  
  
"You're asking me to wait a few years?" Jess asked, feeling incredulous that Duo could take such a serious matter so lightly.  
  
"What's wrong with that? For all you may know, this war might end next month."  
  
Jess shook her head furiously, panic building up rapidly inside of her. She knew how long the war was going to take, having gathered a bit of info here and there.  
  
"I can't wait that long. I want to go home. Now."  
  
"So do we," Duo shot back, looking a tad bit annoyed. "Besides, what's wrong with being here?"  
  
"I can't wait forever. Did you think I'd be here forever?"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
Jess shook her head fervently. They just didn't seem to be getting it.  
  
"My home isn't here. It's in another dimension. A dimension . . .," at that, Jess opened her arms wide, taking in the room, the sophisticated machinery, the window that showed the black and endless space with its million stars and the bed on which Wufei slept.  
  
But all she got in return were blank stares. Jess sighed inwardly, feeling her frustration climaxed. Looked like the boys only understood blunt, spoken words in layman terms.  
  
"My home, it isn't surrounded by death, bloodshed and . . . and hatred. It isn't a place where I'll have to worry about whether . . . whether I live to see tomorrow. Or . . . or die . . . a . . . a horrible death . . ." Jess stopped her explanation. A tear had just trickled out of her eye, down her cheek.  
  
Hastily, she wiped it away, hoping that none of the boys noticed. However, another soon took its place.  
  
"God . . . Jess," Duo began but she quickly turned her back on them, facing the window to look out at the wide, endless space.  
  
"I . . . I'll be alright . . . just lost . . . my . . . my control temporary," Jess quickly said, but her voice came out in broken gasps, not quite the way she wanted them to hear. She immediately fought to control the sobs slowly climbing up her throat.  
  
But by now, her tears were ceaselessly flowing down both cheeks, unchecked because both hands were already wet from past efforts of wiping away tears. Dejectedly, she let her hands drop to her sides.  
  
"I'm . . . homesick . . . lonely. . .," she paused as an unwilling sob escaped her lips. Then swallowing thickly, she tried continuing: "Three months . . . gone . . . I need . . . see . . . parents. . . Family."  
  
Tension was building up between the boys as the girl's tears continued to follow. As the seconds went by, the whimpering that the girl made became more and more frequent. The first one to glare hard at Duo was Trowa. Then Heero followed suit. Duo started to feel hot underneath his collar.  
  
"Ok, ok!" he finally relented after the clock chimed the eighth hour, its cheerful musical notes fading off into the air, "I'll build your stupid machine. But no more needles or pins!"  
  
Author's Proclamation: Good news! The ritual to get Wufei out of dreamland, onto his butt! Woowho! :] 


	34. Complications

AN: Sorry about this late chapter again. First off, I'm wishing everyone: Gong Xi Fa Cai! A happy Chinese New Year. Hope all of you readers receive many blessings for the year ahead.  
  
Now, I like to thank my faithful reviewers: Kuria, DeathsDragon, Arianna 15, yami blue eyes white dragon, Death's little side kick, TariOfNargothrond and cryearthstearsfalltou. Thanks a million guys. It is wonderful of you to write. :]  
  
I also like to welcome the new reviewers: Sarah, kurleyhawk 2 and Sachie Jaganashi! Thanks for patronizing my fic! :] I hope you will continue to enjoy the future chapters.  
  
And to someone who specially emailed me to update my fic: Alex. I am truly glad you like it. Thank you! (Sorry, accidentally deleted the email, so I wasn't able to reply)  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 34  
  
"No!!!" Wufei shouted, his body going into immediate action, hands outstretched to tackle the ghost as he leap for her.  
  
But somewhere, at the corner of his eye, he registered his wife's robot making a turnabout and making her getaway towards L5. Then came the inevitable scene where he recalled so many times in his memory since her abrupt departure.  
  
One minute, the robot was speeding steady towards the planet. The next, an explosion of light; wiping out his vision briefly with piercing white rays.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Everyone agreed that the best thing for Jess to do was to wash her face and freshen up. After all, if Wufei was to awaken, two red eyes and one red runny nose dripping mucus was hardly a pretty sight to see first thing on opening his eyelids.  
  
In fact, Duo had joked that Wufei might suffer a relapse from the sight, causing the other three boys to grin from ear to ear. But one scathing glare from the girl was enough to wipe the smiles off their faces.  
  
"Now first things first," Jess said once she stepped out of the adjourning washroom, "How do I act like his wife?"  
  
Silence greeted her, stretching on as the boys thought hard on answering the question. Then, the clock on the wall chimed pleasantly, marking the hour half-past eight.  
  
"I think we need to look at that photo again . . .," Quatre murmured to the room in general, but he kept his eyes downcast, looking only at the floor. "It should gives us some clue on their relationship . . ."  
  
Almost like magic, Trowa had the old crumbling wallet fished out of Wufei's pants and open on the table for all to see before the sentence fully left Quatre's lips. The tiny "whack" was the only sound produced in the whole transition from pocket to table, its spine hitting the tabletop lightly, signaling the end of the process.  
  
Peering over Trowa's shoulder, Duo frankly commented: "They don't look very friendly towards each other."  
  
A heavy gloom settled in the atmosphere once those words were said.  
  
"It can't possible be," Heero muttered under his breath, his eyes darting to the peaceful form lying on the bed. "If he doesn't like her, why would he carry her photo?"  
  
"Good point," Trowa agreed, running his fingers through his hair. Jess noticed his fingers missed his fringe. But then, judging from the way his fringe was able to stick out and cover one side of his face, suggested a pretty good reason for such an action.  
  
"Perhaps he liked her in the end," Quatre offered, his face looking hopeful even though he hadn't taken his eyes off the floor. He had been like this since he sneaked back into the room under the pretence of delivering dinner. Jess rolled her eyes. Quatre's eyes looked everywhere but at her and he cringed whenever she spoke. Obviously he was afraid she would send him out of the room before this whole thing was over.  
  
But then, she wasn't so hard-hearted as to send the blond packing when he was so worried about his friend. After all, he was paying for her necessities in return for this favor.  
  
"Or maybe he's a narcissist," Duo brightly suggested, perking up at this sudden thought, "and maybe that's the only photo he's got."  
  
That earned him some rather nasty glares from his surrounding companions.  
  
"For a guy who wakes up early to workout and bathe in five minutes flat, I'll say I need more convincing," Heero lazily said, throwing Duo a sidelong look.  
  
"Trowa, your views?" Quatre cut in quickly, hoping to halt a quarrel from forming before the situation got out of hand.  
  
Trowa response was to hold out his thumb and turn it upside down.  
  
"I see . . . Heero?"  
  
Heero shrugged his shoulders and answered: "I vote good."  
  
"Duo?" at which, Duo stuck out his tongue and turned his thumb upside down too.  
  
"What about you?" Jess asked, curious on the blond's feelings. For a moment, he hesitated, then he answered: "I don't know. I'm getting rather mixed feelings on this." Suddenly, he brightened as an idea struck him.  
  
"I need you to do something," he said, forgetting his initial embarrassment as he looked seriously into the girl's eyes. "I just remembered you could see ghosts."  
  
Cold fingers of chills tickled down Jess's spine once she heard those words.  
  
"Th. . . this isn't what I think it is, is it?" she asked cautiously, feeling a trickle of sweat make it's way down her forehead. Images of ghouls, deep wounds gushing blood and grotesque faces burst in abundance in her head. Then the thought of being locked up in the room, alone with Wufei and possibly his dead wife was enough to make her knees wobbly with fear.  
  
But the blond stared at her blankly. "Huh?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows, "what are you thinking?"  
  
"I think I'm thinking what you're thinking."  
  
"Are you sure? Because I'm thinking that you're not thinking what I'm thinking, that's what I think."  
  
"Well! I think I got what you're thinking and you're thinking of putting me off track by telling me I'm not thinking what you're thinking when I'm thinking what you're thinking! I got you all figured out mister!" Jess retorted, straightening her shoulders with pride.  
  
"Ok. Now I'm officially confused," Duo cut in, holding out his hands to pause the argument. "Could you two back up and repeat what you have just said?"  
  
Instead, he received a whack on the head with a folded newspaper.  
  
"Ouch! Why you do that for?!" he angrily asked, his eyes shooting daggers at the culprit.  
  
"Hn. Baka," Heero replied confidently, tossing the newspaper away. "They're both not thinking."  
  
"Anyway, to whatever you're thinking, the answer is no," Jess continued, ignoring the pair opposite the bed and focusing all her attention on the petite blond guy.  
  
" What I'm thinking isn't a favor. It's a command for you to do your job," Quatre shot back. He was getting a bit tired of this stupid game the girl wanted to play. To hell with what she was thinking, he only knew what HE was thinking. "I want you to look at Wufei's wife right now and derive their relationship from there."  
  
"Oh." Was the only response out of the girl's mouth before turning a darker shade of red in the face. "Oh."  
  
"Ok, what were YOU thinking?" Quatre asked, half afraid of what he would hear, the other half wondering how her brain worked.  
  
"Whatever you're thinking, I'm definitely not thinking," she admitted smoothly, before turning to the bed and focusing all her attention to the headboard.  
  
Quatre slapped a hand to his forehead and silently groaned.  
  
'The fate of the universe rests in our hands and our success lies with this one girl!' he deduced miserably, 'God, help us please!'  
  
************************************************************************  
  
When Wufei finally regained his eyesight, the cockpit, the controls and Shenlong were all gone. Even the endless space and the surrounding robots from the Federation had disappeared.  
  
Instead he, Wufei, was left sitting cross-legged, encased in a sphere of pure white light, opposite his wife.  
  
She was sitting cross-legged in mid-air like he was, looking rather smug with herself. For a moment, neither of them spoke. He chose instead, to look around, assessing his own situation. As far as his eyes could see, there didn't seem to be an exit, only light surrounding the two of them.  
  
"I hope you understand what this is." His wife or rather ghost had spoken.  
  
"We're in my brain, aren't we?" he replied, trying his best to sound and look nonchalant.  
  
"Your memory to be exact," his wife corrected, her eyes softening.  
  
"So what are we doing here?"  
  
"You know the answer to that," she calmly returned, planting her hands on either sides and making her move to get up.  
  
"Make yourself clear, woman. I can't read your mind," Wufei retorted, feeling annoyance at her mysterious attitude. Meanwhile the light turned a gentle shade of pink, reflecting his irritation.  
  
For a moment, she looked ready to retort, her mouth slightly open with the words just waiting to visualize. But then, as if she thought better of it, she closed eyes and composed herself to a picture of calm and patience.  
  
"This is the last level to your conscience. It's the last hurdle we have to get through to your waking up," she finally answered, straightening up as she did so.  
  
"So what is with all this sphere light thing? I thought you wanted me to wake up," he asked, getting to his own feet. From his angle, the sphere was like a case, keeping him in and the outside out. If he looked hard enough, somewhere between the rays, he could just make out crystals, pretty to look at as the light bounced off and reflected the many colors within it's composition, but thin and deadly sharp as well.  
  
"I do. This is what you have made for yourself. Come, we have some work to do."  
  
"And that would be?" he asked, folding his arm in defiance. Since her death, he missed hearing those stupid notions she would put forth and the days they would debate and quarrel. Now, he wasn't so sure anymore. It seems that since her death, he had also forgotten how bossy she could be too.  
  
Meanwhile, Meiran had raised her right hand high above her head. Looking him straight in the eye, she answered seriously: "To look at yourself."  
  
Then she snapped her fingers.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
What do you mean she's not here??!!" Heero roared, frustration clear in his voice. They were finally on the last clue to give them some idea of Wufei's relationship with his wife and the girl had to go and ruin things by claiming that there was no ghost around.  
  
"Look again. Harder," Quatre commanded, the brisk and calculating businessman alive in him again. "Ghosts can float. Try the ceiling too."  
  
Almost immediately, four faces looked up, assessing the overhead light and the whitewash ceiling.  
  
"Nope, not there too," the girl answered, bringing forth three different sighs of relief. Jess, herself, silently heaved her own sigh of relief. The mere idea of seeing the sad, pale-face ghost hovering over her made her vision swim briefly before her eyes.  
  
"You got to stop that, Quatre. You almost gave me a heart attack with that one," Duo remarked, placing his hand over his heart as if it was going to jump out any moment.  
  
"My deepest apologies then," Quatre returned smoothly, flattening out an imaginary wrinkle in his vest. "But our situation demands the need for her to see the ghost."  
  
Then turning his attention on Jess, he asked in a no-nonsense tone: "What was she like when you first saw her? I would appreciate it if you'll be brutally honest."  
  
Jess suddenly found herself in the middle of attention, all four faces regarding her with utmost deep sincerity. Gulping, Jess was reminded of faces from a not too distant past, of attention given by a certain baboon gang.  
  
"Why do I get the feeling you're trying to milk me for all I'm worth?" she nervously asked, cold sweat forming on her forehead. She had never like attention back then when she was in school. It had bred only disastrous results. Now was no different.  
  
"That's a crude way to describe what I'm doing. I'm always a believer of maximizing my resources," came the calm and swift reply. "Your answer please?"  
  
"Well, she was . . . she was caressing his face? Looking . . . really worried and all? Like a good wife?" she said hopefully. Then realization struck. She had just signed her own death warrant.  
  
But the words were already said and the boys were rubbing their chins, looking thoughtful or pleased. Quatre especially. He was looking very pleased with her words.  
  
Then, as if by telepathy, both Heero and Duo walked over and seized her arms, lifting her off the floor and depositing her next to the headboard.  
  
"What is this?" she screeched, shrugging off their hands from her arms.  
  
"Isn't it obvious?" We want you caress his face," Duo cheerfully replied.  
  
For the second time in two days, Jess cursed her lack of knowledge on the boys' pasts.  
  
AN: Next chapter should be up. 


	35. A new beginning

Chapter 35  
  
In an instance, the background light faded, replaced by colors and texture, coming all together to form one large picture screen like in the 1) omimax theatre. Wufei watched with fascination as his memory brought together the many differing colors, giving it shape and meaning, while the sounds gave the images life.  
  
Then he saw himself.  
  
He was standing in the same field of flowers, west of his house, before a tombstone he knew all too well. In one of his hands he held his wallet, in the other, a stem of wildflower. He watched as the silent figure gently laid the flower at the tombstone base, lightly brushing against the words, and when he finally straightened up, his posture was more rigid than before.  
  
Then gentle fingers touched his shoulder. Looking up, he found himself looking into his wife sad eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said, looking away as she did so. "I thought my death wouldn't be such a burden on you."  
  
But then, he surprised her by smiling. "Why don't you wait for me to speak over there?" he answered, giving her a lazy, confident look through slit eyes.  
  
Then the figure at the tombstone began to speak.  
  
"I know this is stupid to put the flower here when you're obviously residing in Shenlong," he spoke, placing a hand on his hip. "But if I do that and do not clean away the flower properly once it has decayed, that means I have to dismantle the whole chest just to get at that one dirt. I hope you understand because this is all your fault that I am here." Once those words were said, he turned stiffly around and marched out of sight, leaving only the picture of a lonely tombstone among a field of wildflowers, all of them swaying gently in the breeze.  
  
Meanwhile, Meiran had snatched her hand back from his shoulder, looking highly offended.  
  
"You jump to conclusions too fast," Wufei smirked, keeping his eyes directed at the screen. "Why would your death affect me?"  
  
But Meiran walked over to stand next to him instead, looking at the picture herself.  
  
"Pian Zi (liar)," she whispered softly, tears filling her eyes, "All these scenes are the memories that weigh most on you. They make up the barriers keeping you here because you are too afraid to wake up and find reality as it is."  
  
"Afraid? Who's afraid? I show you who's afraid!" Wufei shouted, taking a menacing step towards her. But he couldn't deny to himself that Meiran's words had struck a nail in his heart.  
  
"Really?!" she shouted back, looking him bravely in the face, her face screwed up with determination. "Then what is with the need to visit my grave with that flower and that wallet with our photo together?"  
  
That immediately stunned him. He hadn't been expecting that. Instead, he had been hoping to intimidate her into silence. Suddenly, his dead spouse seemed too near and he retreated a few steps back.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"I . . .I . . .," he stammered, his brain working full-time to think up an excuse, a reason, anything that didn't make his heart beat so hard and quickly as his wife accusations did. Seizing on the first rational excuse he could think of, he answered: "I was just doing my duty as a responsible husband."  
  
"Duty my foot," she retorted, folding her arms in annoyance. "When I was alive, the only duty you would do is study. Anything else would have to be an interest to you or a bribe."  
  
"Then what explanation do YOU have, my DEAR?" he asked, sarcastically emphasizing the last word of his sentence to convey his frustrations to his wife.  
  
He watched as thoughtfulness replaced all emotions on her face as she contemplated the picture on the screen.  
  
"That tombstone . . . It looks really lonely," she wistfully said, "like it is almost sad."  
  
"It's purely your imagination."  
  
"Like forgotten . . . Regret," she went on, ignoring him.  
  
"Like I said: You're reading too much into it . . ."  
  
"It seems like you feel wrong to leave it there. . ."  
  
"Arrrh! Will you cut it out already??!!"  
  
"I'm getting negative vibes. Wrong, not right . . ."  
  
"Enough!"  
  
"Should be done another way . . ."  
  
"Meiran . . ." Wufei warned, his voice dripping dangerously low.  
  
"Not now Wufei! Getting a word. Fa . . ."  
  
"You are going too far now, Meiran!"  
  
"Failure!" Meiran shouted triumphantly, and the screen around them shattered, revealing another layer, blood red this time. Wufei clutched his heart; her word had just delivered a sharp blow to his heart.  
  
"Yes, failure," he admitted bitterly, practically spitting out the word he so detested to hear and acknowledge. "Failure as your husband and protector. I hope you're happy because I'm regretting it now."  
  
"But Wufei," she admonished gently, her face taking on a tender look, something she had never shown him before except on her last dying moments. It both intrigued and frightened him. "I don't think you're a failure."  
  
"Yeah right, what kind of husband sends his own wife to her death?" he angrily concluded, bitter tears forming at the corners of his eyes. Never had he been so ashamed of his lack of judgment. "What kind of husband doesn't at least listen to his wife once in a while?" Miserably, he stared at the ground.  
  
All of a sudden, gentle hands reached out and cupped his face; the fingers lightly brushing the tears away. Looking up, he found himself staring into a very happy and relieved face. It seemed like eons ago, his wife looked sad, like the world was on her shoulders.  
  
"A husband who cares and believes that what he is doing is right," she spoke, her eyes sparking with happiness and life. "And you have made me very proud," she admitted, nodding her head at Wufei's surprise reaction, "You are no longer a boy but a man. Someone who fights for justice and our planet's freedom. A Gundam Pilot!"  
  
With that proclamation, the blood-red layer shattered into a millions pieces around them, letting in light from the outside. For the first time since Meiran's death, Wufei smiled with a carefree heart.  
  
************************************************************************  
  
"You want me to what??!!" the girl practically screamed, almost taking Heero's and Duo's eardrums out with it.  
  
'Sheesh! Now I know how Wufei felt when he was screamed at,' Duo thought, wiggling a finger in his ear to lessen the ringing.  
  
"What's wrong with following what his wife did?" Heero asked innocently. But his facial expression was far from innocent. Instead, it was back to its usual catatonic state. He didn't appreciate being yelled at and he could only pick up muffled sounds with his right ear, it being the closest to the girl.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked, disbelieve written all over her face. "You're asking me what's wrong? Heero Yuy, I believe there is a mark difference between common sense and pure suicide!"  
  
"Him? Wufei? No . . . You're kidding. He's as harmless as a church mouse," Duo intervened, placing gentle hands on Jess's shoulders before turning her abruptly to face the bed; forcing her to look at the "sleeping beauty" lying there.  
  
"Right . . ., and you go tell that to 300 tonnes of pure steel with weapons to wipe out a whole army in my world," Jess returned, sarcasm dripping heavily from her words.  
  
"Name three reasons why you shouldn't caress his face," Quatre stated harshly. He was getting really tired of the girl delaying her end of the bargain. If she wanted him to pay for her things, she had better earn it first, whether she needed some things urgently or not.  
  
"Better yet, I'll give you four," the girl replied confidently, holding out four fingers over the bed for them to see and closing them one by one as she ticked off her reasons.  
  
"One: I am NOT Wufei's wife. Two: Wufei knows FATAL martial arts. Three: We all know he DOESN'T like girls." Then Jess paused in her narration, looking thoughtful while the last finger remained held out over the bed.  
  
"Four?" Quatre prompted once he couldn't take the suspense anymore. But the girl remained silent, her finger now quivering with tension from the unspoken reason.  
  
"You don't know, do you?" Heero asked when it seemed like the girl was going to stand there all night with her finger held out. He gave her a sidelong glare.  
  
"No, I just simply forgot," the girl replied, nonchalantly flicking some imaginary hairs over her shoulders with the offending hand. All the boys belched at the answer she gave.  
  
"If you don't know, just say you don't know," Quatre murmured under his breath as he tried to get a hold of himself.  
  
"Duo, I apologize," Heero said, once he regained his composure.  
  
"Huh? What for?"  
  
"Your stupidity has always amazed me but this one takes the cake!"  
  
"Oh, that's reeeeal comforting to hear Yuy," Duo retorted, folding his arms across his chest.  
  
Meanwhile, Jess had finally gotten the grasp of the conversation.  
  
"Hey! I'm not stupid!" she argued, staring hard into Heero's face.  
  
"You're right. You're mentally challenged," the messy, brown-haired Jap boy cheekily agreed, flashing her a wide grin.  
  
Jess blinked. Then blinked again.  
  
"Hey! You smiled! Normally!" she exclaimed, clapping her two hands together in delight.  
  
Heero threw to the boys a "see-what-I-mean" look. More grins appeared around the room to join his.  
  
"So what do you propose to do?" Quatre asked after allowing the girl to bask in her delight for a few moments. He watched with interest as the smile faded off her face, replaced by uncertainty and hesitation.  
  
Then she shrugged her shoulders. "You tell me."  
  
"As much as I like to help you, I'm afraid I didn't have the LUXURY to see my parents interact with each other. My mother died when I was born."  
  
"Oh, I see. . . I'm sorry," the girl replied, bowing her head a little in shame.  
  
"Don't worry. She died before I remembered her. So no big loss," Quatre quickly said, feeling a little guilty over the harshness in his voice earlier.  
  
Then Jess turned her eyes on Trowa.  
  
Trowa kept quiet and stared back hard. Then he shrugged his own shoulders in reply.  
  
"Don't look at me," Duo quickly said when Jess shifted her attention on him. "I was an orphan as long as I can remember. And I don't think the nuns and priest will qualify as interaction between mother and father."  
  
"And I had only a father who adopted me to teach me about assassination." Heero added in his own worth before Jess could even look at him.  
  
"So that leaves you," Quatre finished for the boys. "Are you an orphan or from single parent family?"  
  
"No . . . Both my parents are alive. . ." Jess paused halfway in her answer. Somehow, the atmosphere in the room had suddenly turned . . . hungry.  
  
"Good for you," Duo said, but there was a bit of bitterness in his own voice. "So tell us how do a good wife and husband communicate?"  
  
"Oh, you don't want to know my family communication system," Jess hastily replied, taking a step back. Every single pair of eye had started to shine with a mysterious menacing light and these same eyes were focused on her.  
  
"It's ok, we'll like some clue on a normal family life," Quatre gently but firmly said.  
  
"I really think you don't want to know."  
  
"No, reeeeally. Shoot," Duo emphasized, nodding his head to compliment his demand.  
  
"Perhaps if we asked the Doctors, being old and all . . ."  
  
"Talk!" the boys shouted in unison.  
  
Jess was shocked by the anger and hunger behind their words.  
  
'Ok, fine. Don't regret it,' she thought as she opened her mouth to accommodate their request.  
  
"Mr Lee Bin Keng (2)! Get in here and kill that cockroach!"  
  
Author's Proclamation: Omimax threatre (I hope I got the spelling right) is a globe-like theatre where you find in science center and watch a movie with 3D glasses, and feel like you're in it.  
  
It is Jess's father name. Note that this name is purely fictional and not directed at anybody. 


	36. He awakes!

AN: This chapter isn't very funny, I'm afraid. It takes on a rather light- hearted tone to the seriousness of the situation at hand. : P I apologise if you are waiting for funnies from this chapter.  
  
I like to thank all my reviewers for writing in: yami blue eyes white dragon, TariOfNargothrond, Death's little side kick, Sachie Jaganashi, Magical Wiseskill, DeathsDragon and Kuria! I really appreciate your reviews. :D Also thanks to Alex who emailed in to review. :D  
  
And two newcomers! Greetings to: AlyRain and Skeren Dreamera. I am happy you like my writing so far. Thank you for your sweet reviews! :] A word of warning though . . . I tend to update a chapter every two or three weeks. So this fic is a bit slow moving.  
  
Now with the fic!  
  
Chapter 36  
  
Ten minutes later, Jess could feel her right eye twitch with irritation. Ten whole minutes of sweet-talking, calling his name and bribing him didn't even get a muscle to twitch on any part of his body.  
  
"Maybe you forgot to add something he normally hears out of his wife mouth," Quatre suggested, scratching his head thoughtfully.  
  
"It's not forgot," Jess slowly spoke, correcting the boy, "It's DON'T know."  
  
"Well, how about adding "Darling"? Or "Sweetheart"? Or "Love of my life"? Or . . ." Duo quipped, his eyes sparkling with life, ideas just waiting to be said.  
  
"OR how mushy THIS is getting," Jess quickly shot back. "Get real. How many people would like to hear this out of their wife's mouth?"  
  
Four hands shot straight up in the air almost immediately.  
  
"I definitely want to hear it everyday of my life!" Duo proclaimed, the tone of his voice sounding a little defensive. "It's an expression of love which I am definitely lacking right now."  
  
"I don't mind either," Quatre agreed, nodding his head.  
  
"Hn.' Came Heero's reply.  
  
". . ."  
  
"Ok, ok, I get the idea," Jess threw up her hands in surrender. "I will do "Darling" or "Sweetheart" but no way am I doing "love of my life!" or whatever."  
  
Turning to the bed, she looked at the pale, still form of Wufei and sulked. Sure, she didn't mind saying those things, but in all her dreams, she had always visualized the man to be a little more . . . handsome and alive. Preferably rich and older than her too.  
  
'This is ridiculous!' she thought as she bended over the bed to talk to Wufei. 'I haven't even gotten my first boyfriend yet.'  
  
A soft cough from Quatre indicated that she had better get things on the move if she wanted to earn her promises.  
  
"Darling . . .," she spoke, gritting her teeth and trying to make her voice sound more pleasant. It came out a little harsh and strained instead. Jess cleared her throat and tried again.  
  
"Darling . . . Why don't you get up? It's seven o'clock in the morning."  
  
Almost ironically, the clock on the wall started to chime the tenth hour of the night.  
  
* Bang! * Heero shot the clock before it could chime its eighth hour.  
  
Jess closed her eyes and tried hard to visualize Wufei as the rich, handsome older man she dreamed about.  
  
" The sun is shining, the birds are twiddling and school's about to START." She finished the sentence in a threatening voice. Somehow, she couldn't get over the HUGE difference between Wufei and the man of her dreams.  
  
Meanwhile, Quatre issued a warning note by clearing his throat while Trowa fixed on her an evil eye.  
  
"So SWEETHEART, please, PLEASE, open those little slit eyes of yours!"  
  
But Wufei continued to lie on the bed, sleeping peacefully, unconscious of the peril the girl was facing because of him.  
  
Jess felt a vein pop somewhere in her head. She had just embarrassed herself, said things meant only for her future boyfriend to hear and to top it off, he was not responding.  
  
"Maybe you should say in his native language, like Chinese?" Duo suggested, his eyes looking at her hopefully. "He is, after all, a Chinese . . ."  
  
"Isn't it obvious he is not responding to . . . to these . . . sugar words?" Jess asked, her hands upturned and stretched out to Wufei, her eyes pleading with the boys not to make her say the words anymore. But all of them shook their heads in answer.  
  
"They're both Chinese, him and his wife. It's only normal they communicate in Chinese," Quatre explained, his eyes concentrating on Wufei's form while he held his chin thoughtfully. "So you should at least try to talk to him in Chinese, like his wife did."  
  
"And even if they did talk in Chinese, how do you know she will say those words to him?"  
  
"How do you know she won't?" he returned softly, his eyes coolly challenging hers. "Besides, no work, no . . . necessities."  
  
"Fine, I do it," Jess relented after a moment's hesitation. "But I will pull out if this gets too much."  
  
Quatre gave her a slight smile and a small bow of his head. "Your cooperation is much appreciated."  
  
Turning her attention back to the bed, Jess took a deep breath and let it out in a slow manner to calm herself. It was now or never and it had better be now, because she was in no position to do more.  
  
"Cool! I always wanted to hear endearments in another language," she heard Duo whisper to Heero as she bended her head over Wufei's face oncemore to talk.  
  
"Shhh!"  
  
Swallowing thickly, Jess could feel a blush stealing into her cheeks. All her dreams of whispering those words to the man of her dreams were about to be shattered by this. Jess allowed herself a small sigh of regret and braced herself to say those words to Wufei.  
  
"Qin ai de, quai dian qi chuang. Tai yang chu lai le!" (My beloved, quickly wake up. The sun has risen!)  
  
"Qin Ai de? Are you sure that's an endearment?" Duo asked while lifting one eyebrow as well.  
  
"Yes. It is."  
  
"Hmm . . . go on," He said, waving his hand as if he was dismissing her answer.  
  
Jess gritted her teeth and carried on.  
  
"Ni kan! Tai yang hao mei. Niao e ye chu lai le! Zhen hao ting." (You look! How pretty the sun. Even the birds are out. Very lovely to listen to.)  
  
"So which one of the words is an endearment?" Duo cut in again, look at her innocently.  
  
"None!" she bit out the word.  
  
"Oh. But you promise you would put it in."  
  
Jess clasped a hand to her forehead and prayed for patience. In response to Duo's request, she raised her hand in the universal sign of "wait." Meanwhile, her brain searched furiously for a sweet word.  
  
"Wo de ai ren," (My love,) Then she paused. She didn't know what else to say. Finally, she decided to be frank. "ru guo ni bu quai dian qi chuang, Wo hui bian chen yi ge si ya." (If you don't wake up soon, I'll be a dead duck.)  
  
"So which one is the endearment?"  
  
Jess clutched her fists and spat out: "Wo de ai ren."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"My love."  
  
"And my Qing ai de?"  
  
"My beloved."  
  
"Then how come there is still no reaction? Are you really saying endearments to him?" Duo questioned, as he fixed her a look of disbelieve.  
  
More veins popped in Jess's head. And she saw red.  
  
'To hell with endearments! I'll give you Jess SPECIAL treatment of Love!' she decided as she took in a deep breath.  
  
Ni zhe ge da ben beep! Beep Beep! zhu, gei wo xian zhai qi chuang! Fou ze wo hui beep, beep, beep! @ei#(u389#$)! Ru guo ni hai yao huo zhe, ni zui hao xian zhai gei wo kuai kuai de qi chuang! (You this big, stupid beep! Beep! Beep! Pig, get out of bed now! Or else I will beep, beep beep! @ei39(u389#$)! If you still want to LIVE, the BEST thing for you to do now is to be good and show me you can get out of bed!")  
  
For emphasis, she banged the bed to punctuate her anger at the appropriate words.  
  
Then Jess found herself suddenly staring into two black, onyx eyes.  
  
"Yep!" Jess yelped as she leaped into the air, away from the bed. She had not expected response to be this fast! Meanwhile, the boy slowly sat up in the bed, his eyes never leaving her face, staring hard all the while.  
  
No one else could say another word for a few more moments. Wufei's awakening had been so abrupt that everyone was taken by surprise. Then Duo found his voice.  
  
"I may not understand Chinese," he commented, eyes still wide with surprise, "But I'm certain those were no love words. Welcome back to the world, Wu."  
  
************************************************************************  
  
Meanwhile, Doctor G was assessing the new prototype he created when he spied out of the corner of his right eye, a figure near Wufei's Shenlong.  
  
'Wufei? He's awake?' he thought, swinging his head around to get a good look.  
  
'No, a black-haired girl . . .'  
  
"Jess child, is that you?" he called, crossing the large hanger to approach the girl.  
  
Instead, when the girl faced him, he could see it was not Jess. In fact, she did not look like anyone in the base. On seeing him approaching her, she flashed him a sweet smile. Then she walked away, around the giant robot's legs, out of his sight.  
  
"Hey you! You're transpassing!" Doctor G shouted, quickening his pace to catch up with the girl. "Stop I command you! I demand to know how you got . . . in. . ." Doctor G had finally reached the robot and was looking behind its legs when his command died on his lips.  
  
There was nothing behind the two sets of legs. In fact, there wasn't even a space between the legs and tail for a skinny child to squeeze pass. Much less a space between the wall and tail . . . Everything was perfectly aligned and in order as it was before.  
  
'Hmm . . .' Doctor G frowned as he contemplated the robot for a moment longer. 'Did I just . . .?'  
  
Then he took off his spectacles, inspecting them for scratches and dirt.  
  
'Ok, that does it! This is the last time I'm going to buy Sunproof products!' he thought, throwing the spectacles into a nearby bin as he returned to his assessment. 'Ghosts indeed! I'm almost one myself!'  
  
A girl watched his action from the shoulder of a white and green robot. Then allowing herself a tiny giggle, she slid past the metal barriers to enter the robot.  
  
Author's Proclamation: Sorry about the long chapters to get Wufei to revive from his sleep. Difficult since a lot of details got stuck in my head before I could get the story to progress. :] Be putting up a subdiversion of this fic on another new link. Don't want to write it here and disturb the flow I thought out for this one! 


	37. Portal construction

AN: I am typing this at 11 o'clock at night because of inspiration. I hope this chapter will be as good as the ones I type after sleeping. :]  
  
Thanks to my wonderful reviewers: cryearthstearsfalltou, Sachie Jaganashi, yami blue eyes white dragon, Skeren Dreamera, AlyRain, Death's little side kick, TariOfNargothrond, Kuria and LoveBuggie! I just absolutely love your fav reviews for the last chapter! :]  
  
To the newcomers: Welcome silver swan1, Raizard333 and Crystal! I am appreciative for your reviews and hope you will appreciate the upcoming chapters.  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 37  
  
"Ok, we are ready to rock and roll!" Duo proclaimed, settling himself down between the piles of junk. They were back at his garage, two days after the awakening of Wufei.  
  
"So what do we do first?" Jess quipped, feeling excited at the prospect of being one step closer to going home.  
  
Duo opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out.  
  
Jess nudged him.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Good question. I don't know."  
  
"You don't know??!!"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Oh, great!" Jess exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration. "I was happy for nothing."  
  
"Not really . . ." Duo countered, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "I mean if we consider first the PHYSICAL attributes the machine must have to function properly . . . We might just come up with something workable." Then he caught Jess looking at him suspiciously.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You aren't pulling my leg this time are you?"  
  
"Hey, I may be a joker but when Shinigami gives his word, he keeps it," Duo replied, looking visibly offended.  
  
"Woah . . . chill. I believe you, I truly do," Jess quickly said, holding her hands out to pacify the boy. "Honest!" she added when Duo didn't immediately let up his look of disbelieve.  
  
Just then, the door of the garage started pounding.  
  
"Who could that be?" Duo murmured, getting up and going to the controls located at the door side. Pressing the intercom button, he went: "Yeah?"  
  
"Wufei." Came the curt answer.  
  
Raising an eyebrow, Duo pressed the sequence on the pad to release the lock in the door. Then the door rolled slightly upwards to reveal a pair of long legs in white pants, in which the owner ducked to enter the room.  
  
"Yo! Wu! What's brings you to this . . . What was it you named this place? Oh yeah . . . God forbidden place?" Duo asked, his sarcasms just dripping off his words. That earned him a glare from his friend.  
  
"I came because I heard everyone had to do something for her just to get her cooperation in getting me up. I'm just here to do my part," he coolly replied once he had his fill of seizing the American up. Lot of good that did him.  
  
Duo just blew his fringe out of his eyes, engaged the door auto lock again and moved to settle in his original position. Taking the cue, Wufei settled himself opposite from the boy, keeping a measurable distance between him and the girl.  
  
"You better not mistake this as something or other!" he hissed at Jess, throwing her a bitter side-long look.  
  
"Mistake it for what?"  
  
"Never you mind."  
  
"Weird guy."  
  
"Dumb girl."  
  
"Hello! Am I missing something here?" Duo asked feeling extremely left out. He had been trying to follow their arguments and all he got was a stitch in his neck from turning his head left and right to keep up with their responses.  
  
"No!" they both replied in unison. Duo's eyes popped wide open and his mouth dropped. This was not something he will see everyday.  
  
"Let's get started on the machine," the girl quickly said, pretending to be busy by rummaging through her side of the metal junk.  
  
"Yeah. The sooner we start, the sooner we'll get rid of you," Wufei added in, rummaging through his side of junk and looking equally as pissed.  
  
"You know, if you keep quiet, no one will say you're dumb."  
  
"Ever heard of the phase woman are meant to be seen, not heard? Don't forget why I'm here." Then as if on second thought, he quickly added: "And don't you go having any funny thoughts!"  
  
"Like I will. You've made it EXCEPTIONALLY clear that you want me out of this world."  
  
"Darn right you are."  
  
Meanwhile, Duo scratched his head. Somehow, things were getting more complicated by the minute. And Shinigami doesn't like seeing complicated things. He likes doing it.  
  
"So what do you people think we need for the machine?" he cheerfully asked and got what he expected. Both persons stopped their frantic search through his collection.  
  
"Well . . . Uhm . . .," the girl stammered then looked down at the floor in embarrassment. Meanwhile, Wufei preferred to remain silent.  
  
"I guess as much." Then Duo extracted four suction cups with wires attached to it, from his side of the metal heap.  
  
"What's that for?" Wufei asked, curious why he was holding such a simple contraption.  
  
"It's for the wall; to deactivate the metaphysical barrier that separates our world from her world, preferably distorting time as well so she will not be missed."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"What about energy?" the girl questioned, looking at him with worry. "We do need energy for this kind of thing, right?"  
  
"I got this!" he proudly answered, pulling out a square box device. "People, behold! This is the X39 energy generator. This baby can pack a 399 volt punch in a second with a simple non-electrical appliance."  
  
"Wow . . ." Jess breathed and then noticed something peculiar on the device. "What's this?" she asked, pointing at the thing protruding out of it.  
  
"It's a wheel." Came the nonchalant answer.  
  
"Kinda . . . small, isn't it?" she asked.  
  
"Of course! It's for the application."  
  
"And that would be?" Wufei prodded, half afraid to hear the answer, the other half dying with curiosity on this mysterious application.  
  
With the expertise of a magician, knowing that he was keeping his crowd in anticipation, Duo slowly reached into his back pocket and pulled the item out.  
  
"Ta da!" he triumphantly said, opening his hand to reveal the application.  
  
Both people looked and then bended forward to have a closer look.  
  
"It's a hamster." It was a comment, not a question.  
  
"Yep. I flinch it off Sally's lab when she was looking for my T-rethiaum jab."  
  
"Ahhh . . ."  
  
* Ting ling ling . . . * something glass hit the metal floor.  
  
"I suppose this contains the T-rethiaum jab Sally was searching for," Jess said, picking up the tiny glass vial.  
  
"Heh heh . . ."  
  
"Give me that!" Wufei snapped, snatching the suction cups out of Duo's hand. "At the rate you two are going, we're never gonna send her home."  
  


* * *

  
1 hour later, all of them stepped back from the device they were building.  
  
It was an oblong thing made out of a digital clock, an electrical calendar (the type with numbered flaps), the X39 generator, a few tonnes of wires crisscrossing here and there, some bolts and screws, and a red button to activate the machine. Both boys wiped the sweat off their brows.  
  
"There! Completed!" Duo happily claimed, throwing his hands out in a dramatic effect of presenting the whole device. "This creation should do the trick in sending you home."  
  
His proclamation raised two eyebrows in the room: Jess's and Wufei's.  
  
"You sure?" Jess asked, uncertain. Where the clock was, she spied a few loose wires peeking out.  
  
"Of course!" came the unhesitant answer.  
  
"You VERY sure?" Wufei asked in turn.  
  
"And why not?" Duo asked, pouting his lip at Wufei in an arrogant manner. "You're the genius. You helped, didn't you?"  
  
"I would rather suggest a test run."  
  
"Huh? What for?"  
  
"I do believe if we conduct it at the fifth floor, where MY room is situated, the only thing that separates her reality from ours is also the wall that separates us from DEATH of lung compression!"  
  
"We could always prepare for that kind of case," Duo answered stubbornly, folding his arms across his chest. "A few metal sheets, a fire torch, some nails, all these should fix it up right."  
  
Wufei slapped his hand to his forehead and sighed.  
  
"You there," he suddenly addressed the girl, "which country do you live?"  
  
"Huh? Why?" Jess was taken aback by this sudden question.  
  
"Just answer. It's important. Add in the date too."  
  
"Singapore. 2000, millennium. But this happened during my trip to Japan in the December holidays."  
  
"Whatever," came the irritating reply. Jess felt her anger raise a notch. This boy had a serious attitude problem.  
  
'Where are his manners? Is this the way to treat his savior?' she bitterly thought, folding her arms as she regarded the boy.  
  
"So what are you trying to get at, Wu?" Duo questioned, his face serious for once.  
  
"Obviously your brain matter is too little, Maxwell. If we tested the machine first hand, one: it might not work. Two: it'll disintegrate the wall instead and we'll end up in space. Three: It'll might work but she'll be in trouble." At that, he pointed at Jess. Jess anger raised another notch higher up the scale.  
  
"Oh? Like how?" she challenged, irritation clear on her face.  
  
"Oh, I don't know . . . one leg in Malaysia, your head in Indonesia, an arm in China? The rest of your body floating merrily in space?" Wufei answered, smirking away.  
  
"That is so not funny," Jess countered through gritted teeth. Wufei shrugged his shoulders to show he didn't care.  
  
"Your choice, Maxwell. Her life is in your hands . . ." and for added emphasis, he walked behind the girl; making sure Duo's attention was on him all the while and he caught the girl's no doubt pissed, but worried face.  
  
There was a moment of silence as Duo considered seriously the impact of Wufei's words, weighing the pros and cons of using the machine as he wished. Then, finally making a decision, he looked up at the both of them.  
  
"Fine," he relented, his shoulders sagging slightly in defeat; "we'll test it here first." 


	38. Ta da!

AN: I hope will enjoy this chapter. I am having the mock exams so I won't be able to put up the new subfic till two weeks. Sorry . . . Anyway, hope all of you have a great week ahead of you. :]  
  
To my dedicate reviewers: yami blue eyes white dragon, AlyRain, DeathsDragon, Kuria and Death's little side kick, thank you for your wonderful reviews again. :] I am very appreciative of the time you take to write. It brightens me up on a gloomy and lousy day. :]  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 38  
  
Trowa had just settled himself down at his computer when it happened. No, not the end of the world but definitely the end of his room.  
  
One minute he was worrying about his sister and the circus, trying to hack into OZ many large bank accounts. The next minute, by some uncanny luck and inborn instinct, he was ducking and dashing around falling debris. And surprise or not: the trio behind it had to be Duo, the girl and Wufei. The last person was definitely a surprise since he had swore never to stick around the girl unless absolutely necessary.  
  
It was also a surprise that of all places, Duo's garage had to be the room above his.  
  
So off to the main control room he marched them, trying his best to keep his anger from flowing out and saying all the curses he could think of to them.  
  
"You aren't really angry with us, are you?" Duo asked him with his best innocent look.  
  
No response.  
  
"Dimwit," he heard Wufei mutter to Duo under his breath. "Who wouldn't be angry over his own room being destroyed?"  
  
"But he doesn't look angry," the girl winced. Obviously, she didn't like being forcibly marched after taking such a hard fall. Pity though, Trowa wasn't in the mood for feeling charitable.  
  
"And I don't ever recall dodging hailing metal objects and three person crashing in from the rooftop pleasant. Especially when one of them lands on you." Wufei concluded, directing an angry glare at the culprit. Duo just stuck out his tongue in a cheeky way and walked on.  
  
Few minutes later, all four of them were standing in a line, in front of the three scientists. Master O squinted his eyes as he took in the last person. Then he took off his glasses, wiped it on the edge of his lab coat and then put it on again. Only to squint at the person again.  
  
"Forgive me sirs," he said to his fellow scientists, "But I seem to be having a bad case of hallucination. I believe I'm seeing my young charge amongst the mischief makers."  
  
"You know what, so am I." the other two doctors murmured their agreements, nodding their heads slowly while staring hard at Wufei. "Must be contagious!"  
  
Then Master O extended a hand and touched Wufei's face.  
  
"How peculiar. I can feel this hallucination . . ."  
  
"That's because I'm real," Wufei cut in, slapping the hand away.  
  
"Wufei?" Master O went and blinked with surprise. Then he smiled at Duo. "I must congratulate you on this excellent robotic structure. He speaks and acts almost like the real thing."  
  
"I am the real thing," Wufei grounded out through clutched teeth.  
  
"You?" Doctor J asked and he came forward to look the boy in the eyes. "You can't be him. He's a . . ."  
  
"Stick-in-the-mud," Doctor G continued.  
  
"Justice-loving," Master O added in.  
  
"Hates girls," Doctor J went on.  
  
"And straight forward guy," they all finished in chorus. Jess slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle making its way out. She had to hand it to the scientists. They really knew their charges well.  
  
"Thanks, Mister O," Duo spoke, smiling widely with all his teeth showing. "Only problem is I didn't make him. He was born that way." His words wiped the smiles off all the scientists' faces.  
  
"Wufei??!!" they all cried out together. Then Master O slapped a hand across the Wufei's forehead. "Such irrational behavior! You must be falling sick!"  
  
"I am NOT sick!" the boy shouted, taking a step back. If Master O continued being this eccentric, he was going to be crazy soon. "I was just doing my part!"  
  
"In what?" Master O asked, concern all over his face.  
  
Then Trowa stepped forward, whipping out the portal machine and holding it out by its four suction cups wires.  
  
"Roof," he said, feeling extremely annoyed that the matter had been delayed till now.  
  
The doctors waited some more but nothing came out after that word.  
  
"You know Trowa, you're a great guy but . . . we can't read your mind. Could you . . . elaborate?" Doctor G pleaded, holding out his hand in a peace-offering manner. He never was able to interpret what Trowa was saying because the boy would keep everything in his head. With Duo however, it was a totally different case. The boy said everything in his head.  
  
But Trowa continued to remain silent, his green eyes looking sleepily at him as if it was trying to telepathically recount the events to him. Doctor G gave up.  
  
"Could one of you elaborate?" he asked and quickly held his hand out over Duo's mouth. "I don't want to hear a long story with every minute details."  
  
Then the door opened, revealing Quatre with a pushcart behind it.  
  
"I brought tea to keep you sirs refreshed," he chimed happily as he entered the room. "I must say thank you for all your hard work on behalf of my friends and . . . ahiya yah! What are you guys doing here?"  
  
". . ."  
  
"Oh, I see . . ." he said, after taking a glance in Trowa's direction.  
  
"Ah, the man to help," Doctor G responded, coming forward to drag the blond to the center of the crowd. "You are willing to help us three old fellows, right?"  
  
"Watch who you're calling old, G," Doctor J threatened under his breath.  
  
Doctor G just ignored his threat and continued: "Trowa?"  
  
". . . Roof . . .," the redhead said to his blond fellowman, holding up the portal machine device again.  
  
"Would you be so kind as to elaborate for us?" In response to his request, Doctor G received a queer look from the petite guy.  
  
"He said that due to that contraption in his hand, his roof has now been extended to four storeys high and the whole place is littered with Duo's junk. I mean collection," Quatre quickly amended after stealing a quick glance in Duo's direction.  
  
"He can understand all this from that one word alone?" Jess whispered to Duo, her voice filled with awe. Duo shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"We all have a theory he's telepathic. Don't need words or expression to read the mind."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Meanwhile, the reactions of the doctors were quite amazing. All their mouths had dropped open to revealing missing teeth, a gold tooth here and there and one of them was wearing dentures for the lower jaw.  
  
"Be . . . . beg your pardon?" Doctor J stammered out when he finally could work his mouth. "H . . . How?"  
  
"It seems that this thing melted Duo's garage floor to the diameter of 10 meters. Quite impressive for so little a thing." Quatre mused as he looked at the device in Trowa's hands. But the doctors weren't listening anymore, they had all gone into action.  
  
Doctor G all but snatched the device out of Trowa's hands while Master O got out a large toolbox from underneath one of the control panels hidden cabinets. Meanwhile, Doctor J had hit one of the main ship's many communication channels and was on the line with Sally in the clinic room.  
  
"Sally, get in here now! This is big! Duo managed to melt his garage floor!" he practically screamed in the microphone.  
  
"So?" Jess could hear Sally's irritated answer on the line. "I got better things to do! Ida is missing and that boy still haven't got his T-rethiaum jab!"  
  
"Let me put it this way. Duo's floor is made out of U-rainth metal."  
  
There was a pause on the other line as Sally gave the Doctor's words some thought.  
  
"I'll be there," she finally said and the line went dead.  
  
"I don't get it. What's so great about U-rainth metal?" Jess asked, narrowing her eyes in contemplation. Then she realized all the other boys were in a state of shock.  
  
"What?" she persisted, prodding Duo in the side to snap him out of it.  
  
"U-rainth metal is the third hardest metal you can find here. The latest Federation robots are made out of this," Wufei answered instead.  
  
***  
  
Three minutes later, Sally was in the room, towering above Duo. Jess could see her right eye twitching with irritation. In her right hand, she held Ida.  
  
Apparently, Ida was the hamster Duo used to operate the portal machine. And things weren't looking good. Ida was lying on her back, on Sally's hand, with four legs sticking up in the air. She had been like this since the fall. Jess seriously hoped she was in coma rather than kicking the bucket.  
  
"You . . ." Sally breathed, her mouth practically emitting fire.  
  
"Hey babe, looking good! Is that a new hairstyle?" Duo quickly said, trying his best to allay the situation. The right eye started twitching faster. Meanwhile, Jess decided it was better to have a little distance between her and Duo. Wufei must have thought likewise because both of them took a side step away from the boy. All the while trying their best to look inconspicuous.  
  
"I saw that!" Duo snapped, throwing an irritated look in each of their directions to let them know what he thought of their betrayal.  
  
"You. Saw. Nothing . . ." Sally slowly spoke, her voice a low threatening whisper as she bended closer till she was nose to nose with the brown- haired boy. Jess did a tiny sign of the cross and prayed for Duo's safety.  
  
"Yep! Ye . . . yes . . .ma . . . madam." Duo squeaked, bending backwards to get away from the angry face.  
  
* Ting ling ling ling . . . * Duo started sweating profusely. Sally bended down to picked up the tiny glass vial. Her eyebrows shot up when she recognized what it was.  
  
"You know what? I just remembered that I should start cleaning up Trowa's room like a responsible guy," Duo quickly threw over his shoulder, turning around to make his getaway. "I bet he wants me to be there right now."  
  
"Not so fast young man!" Sally retorted, catching hold of his shirt collar and dragging him to the door. "I just remembered. You're long over due that T-rethiaum jab and oh! I've seen you haven't been eating a lot of fruits lately. I guess I have to include a vitamin C jab and maybe a vitamin D jab as well since you've been in this ship for the past few days. Hardly getting the sunshine a growing boy needs to remain healthy . . . PLUS we can give you a few more radiation jabs from that serious accident. Don't want you getting hurt now . . ."  
  
"Nnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooo . . ." Duo's voice faded out into the corridor as Sally turned the corner with him in tow.  
  
Then Doctor J cleared his throat.  
  
"Seems like Sally has . . . other pressing things to see to and I'm afraid Duo may not be available for a while. I'm also afraid you'll have to cancel your hopes of going home for now," he said kindly, directing the last sentence to Jess. "I mean . . . you do understand Duo's not the appropriate person for this kind of complicated things, don't you?"  
  
Jess could feel her eyes fill with tears. Just when she seemed so close to going home, this kind of thing had to happen again.  
  
"We could try again, can't we?" she asked, looking at each scientist hopefully, her eyes shining with unshed tears. The Doctors each looked away.  
  
"Sorry," Doctor G managed to mumble out.  
  
Jess gave a small nod of understanding and turned to go. She would let her tears out in her room. But before she could make her getaway, gentle hands clasped her shoulders.  
  
"Don't be rush child. Hear what we have to say."  
  
"What have you to say?" Jess whispered in a broken voice. She could no longer hold back her tears and they were dripping out one by one. Never in her life had Jess felt so helpless or lonely.  
  
The same gentle hands turned her around and then her tears were being wiped away on white sleeves. There was silence as the scientists waited patiently for her to get some level of control back. Once she had accomplished this, a secret smile passed between them.  
  
"Duo may not be the appropriate person, but we are," Doctor J continued, startling Jess with his bold statement. "But like you, we require something in exchange."  
  
Jess felt her spirit lift with hope. Finally, the scientists were willing to help her!  
  
"Anything!" she said excitedly. "Anything that I can do and to my best effort!" but then she paused and reflected on what she had just said. Making a careless statement was liable to land her in situations she'll rather not be in.  
  
"Of course, to limits I deem that are reasonable and fair to do . . ." she quickly added in. That earned her hearty laughs from the scientists.  
  
"Told you she was smart in her own way," Doctor G said proudly, patting her on the back. "She just might be the one to challenge those old conventional ways."  
  
"We'll see," Doctor J answered confidently. Then turning his attention to her, he said: "Don't worry. We'll just need to check your performance. If you successfully accomplish a few sets of mission we give you, we'll send you back even before the war truly begins. How does that sound?"  
  
"Really?" Jess squealed with excitement. All three old men nodded their heads in reply.  
  
"Alright!" she shouted jubilantly, jumping up into the air. "Wait till I'll tell Duo!" And she rushed out.  
  
Unknown to her, she missed the malicious grins passing between the doctors.  
  
"Planning something?" Wufei asked, his eyes narrow with suspicion.  
  
"You'll see. Dismiss."  
  
Author Proclamation: Please read the new installment of this fic on my author's page. It will bridge the gap between this chapter and chapter 39. (But it'll be up only in two weeks time due to exam reasons . . .) 


	39. Operation JC

AN: Okay people, the new short side fics has been put up. It's called: Training with Jess. If you don't know how to get to it, click on my pen name (which is above this) and you'll be transported to my main page. :] P.S: Be updating that one every week till the end.  
  
I like to thank my reviewers: cryearthstearsfalltou, DeathsDragon, Death's little side kick, Shini no Tenshi, AlyRain, Raizard333, yami blue eyes white dragon, Kuria, TariOfNargothrond. Your reviews are very sweet and motivating! :] Thank you!  
  
I see some newcomers too: krenya-alenak and kmmgirly! Thank you for patronizing my fic and I hope will enjoy it in the near future. Warning: I am a slow updater but I update on a 2 to 3 weeks basis regularly.  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 39  
  
Doctor J watched as five gigantic Gundams battled it out with hundreds of Federation robots on a large screen.  
  
On the top portion of the screen, where he could assess the boys' performance within their robots, he could see all five were sweating profusely as they gave their best efforts in eliminating the overwhelming multitudes of the enemy minions.  
  
Turning to the other doctors, he shook his head to show he wasn't pleased with what he saw.  
  
"This does not look well on our part," he commented, receiving nods from the other two fellow scientists.  
  
"I guess operation J.C has to be deployed," Doctor G concluded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Much as I don't like to do it."  
  
"Well, I'll say this counts as an emergency. They don't look like they can last . . ." From Master O's view, he could see both Wufei and Quatre were slightly panting, due to the exertion of fighting and strategizing at the same time.  
  
With a tiny sigh of regret, Doctor G got up from his seat.  
  
"I'll get the subject." And he strode out the door.  
  
***  
  
'Arh! Where is the girl's toilet?!' Jess desperately thought as she frantically searched the corridors.  
  
She had begun the day with the decision to explore the huge spaceship. Provisions in a backpack and a map in hand, she thought she was all set to discover the ship's hidden nooks and crannies. Now, she wasn't so sure. And what could be worst was, she was lost in the middle of an on-going war and her urge to pee wasn't helping.  
  
No help at hand, no living soul in sight and the annoying urge getting stronger by the minute, Jess for the umpteen time, cursed her luck.  
  
'Why! Why of all days do they have to attack today?!' she mentally screamed, her eyes desperately scanning the passageways for anything that could be of help to her. 'Isn't there anyone to help?'  
  
In response, Duo's Deathscythe had to fly by the window on her right, chasing one bright red-colored robot.  
  
'Oh wow. Great help that was,' she thought scastically, and gave up, leaning her head against the wall.  
  
Then her eyes suddenly spotted something red, close to the ceiling. Taking a closer look, Jess felt her heart leap for joy. It was a red arrow, with the word: "toilet" printed on it. It was partially hidden by a large green signboard pointing to the elevators.  
  
Saying a quick prayer of thanks, she made a dash in the direction of the toilets.  
  
Only to find her way suddenly blocked by Doctor G at the entrance.  
  
"Where are you off too in such a hurry, Jess child?" he asked in a grandfatherly kind of way. Jess pointed to the girl's toilet behind him.  
  
"Ah . . ." he said, nodding his head while smiling widely. "I'm afraid this toilet is not usable at the moment." Jess's jaw dropped. Just when she was so close to her goal!  
  
"Well . . . we do have another one you can use," the doctor quickly added in, taking in her disappointed expression. He watched as the girl's eyes practically lit up.  
  
"Come, follow me," he instructed, motioning a finger at her to follow.  
  
Five minutes later, Jess found herself facing the toilet in the Gundam hanger.  
  
"Well? Go in," Doctor G encouraged, pushing her towards the door. Jess locked both her knees together and dug her heels into the ground. All the while shaking her head vigorously.  
  
"Why? What's wrong?"  
  
Pointing at the sign on the door, she answered accusingly: "That's a boy's toilet."  
  
"Yes, well . . . It's the only one working at the moment."  
  
"I can't go in!!"  
  
"Why in the world not?"  
  
"Because. It'll be sooo embarrassing if one of them walked in while I'm in the middle of business!"  
  
At that, Doctor G clucked his tongue and tched.  
  
Shaking a finger at her, he said: "Don't worry, my dear. They're out fighting."  
  
"But the others . . ."  
  
"If it makes you feel better, I'll guard the outside for you. No?" he went on, ignoring her doubts. Then with a mighty shove, he herded Jess through the toilet door.  
  
***  
  
The transmittion button suddenly lit up, buzzing impatiently, waiting to be pressed.  
  
"What now?" Wufei grumbled as he drove Shenlong's fist through one robot, while with his left hand, reached out and pressed the button.  
  
Master O's brimming face appeared at the top right side of the screen.  
  
"How are all of you doing?" he asked, indicating he was on the main intertransmittion channel with all the other Gundams.  
  
"O! This better be good! As you can see, we're busy at the moment!" Wufei snapped, spinning his robot around so that its tail halved the next six surrounding robots.  
  
On the other connections, he could see Heero saying his famous: "Hn" in acknowledgement, while Quatre and Trowa gave slight nods. Only Duo put one hand to his head in salute to the grand old Master.  
  
"Bad time to talk now," he commented, snatching his hand back to activate Deathscythe slicing motion. The next five surrounding robots burst into flames of red and yellow around him.  
  
"Oh. Just wanted to say help is on the way," Master O quickly said before cutting off the communication channel. Thus effectively cutting off shouts of "What??!!" in mid-chorus.  
  
"Di . . . Did I just hear right?" Quatre asked, thrusting his blade through the mid-section of two robots. They too went up in flames.  
  
". . . I think so . . ."  
  
"What did they do? Clone us?" Duo asked, incredulousness on his face.  
  
"They had better," Wufei grounded out, using his Flame Thrower to eradicate three robots in front of him. "One of us is definitely better than Sally operating a Gundam!"  
  
***  
  
Jess had just finished flushing the toilet when the floor gave way under her. One minute, water was swirling in the bowl before her very eyes. The next minute, she was suddenly plunging into inky blackness to God knows where.  
  
"Eeyah!" she let out a small scream before she landed on something cushioned. Then there was an evil laugh as Doctor G's form appeared, outlined against the light of the toilet.  
  
"What is the meaning of this?!" she demanded, feeling all her hairs stand on the end. The room she was in was in total darkness.  
  
Doctor G continued laughing and then reached down to press something.  
  
Next, something started to swing inwards and before she could even get a grasp of the situation happening in front of her eyes, a door closed, shutting out the only light, which came from the toilet above. Then, she heard the auto lock engaged.  
  
"Help?"  
  
***  
  
Doctor G backed out of the toilet and signaled to his partners in crime that all the procedures were seen to.  
  
Master O rolled his eyes in resignation.  
  
"Of all places, why must she choose the toilet?" he grumbled, returning to his seat and giving a nod to Doctor J to execute the plan.  
  
"You can't help it if nature calls," his colleague sensibly replied, pushing buttons here and there. Through the glass panel, they could hear the gentle hum of the machines as they started to life. "Besides, if we're not careful, G might have fallen in."  
  
"But it's the toilet. We could have made her fallen elsewhere. Like outside the toilet?"  
  
"And what? Risk her letting go of her . . . ahem . . . business in there? No way!"  
  
"I meant after she has done it . . ."  
  
"You know, your conversations are getting a lot more disgusting every time I come in," Doctor G's voice suddenly cut in. Whipping their heads around, Doctor J and Master O could see Doctor G striding through the doorway. "G!"  
  
"Don't G me," he answered darkly, taking his seat beside Doctor J. "Lets get this thing over and done with before I regret."  
  
Then pushing buttons here and there frantically, they watched as the floor in the middle of the hanger parted and a new prototype emerged.  
  
"Operation J.C is now operationally ready," Doctor J whispered, looking at the white Gundam with black and red markings standing there proudly, in front of their visions. It had a red cape that flowed from its shoulder to its waist and a sword, tipped with the latest laser technology. Doctor J wondered what the girl would call it after the whole thing was over.  
  
Then he suddenly remembered an urgent request.  
  
"You know," he quickly said to his buddies before he forgot, "I would greatly appreciate it if we keep this from Sally."  
  
He received grim looks in reply and nods. Everyone shared his sentiments exactly. If Sally knew what they had done, or rather what they were going to do actually, the consequences were definitely going to be hellish for them.  
  
Jess, being the only other female on the ship, had been officially taken under Sally's wing. In other words, the lady had taken a liking to the girl and felt it was her duty to at least protect this girl from the harshness this world faced. Albeit the cruel punishments she dealt to Duo when he accidentally threatened her life.  
  
Now comparing Duo's past blunders to what they were going to do to her, whatever punishments Sally would deal to the Doctors would be definitely be a hundred times worse than what Duo had been dealt with. In unison, they swallowed their saliva nervously and eyed the button that would launch the robot.  
  
"Maybe . . . We don't need to take such drastic measures . . ." Master O offered hopefully. Then all of them took a quick look at the screen where the boys' faces could be seen.  
  
Heero looked terrible, his hair flying all over the place more than usual, while he desperately pushed buttons around his cockpit. Duo, on the other hand, had already stopped his self-narration of Shinigami actions, which meant the boy was seriously drained.  
  
Meanwhile, Wufei's hair no longer resided in its usual neat ponytail as the boy used his remaining energy to fight instead of curse. And Quatre's face had taken on a ghastly white hue, while Trowa . . . he was sweating and remaining quiet as usual.  
  
All the doctors eyed their colleagues, trying to judge each other thoughts. Then simultaneously, they reached a unified conclusion.  
  
"Nah!" they all uttered and pushed the button at the same time, activating the new Gundam's rocket boosters.  
  
***  
  
"Did you see that?!" Duo voice suddenly quipped, sounding excited. "Something just flew out of the HQ!"  
  
Using their visual scanners to zoom in on the object, the rest of the boys sweatdropped.  
  
"You mean more like popped out," Quatre muttered under his breath. The new Gundam was doing somersaults as it flew, looking like it had no control over its limbs.  
  
"I knew it!" Wufei shrieked angrily, glaring hard at it from his own screen. "They just had to go use Sally! For goodness sake, doesn't anyone there learn from past mistakes?!"  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile, blasting off into space, not knowing but somehow feeling she was in a VERY perilous situation, Jess had only one word to describe it.  
  
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!! !" 


	40. A girl and war

AN: Hi everyone, just a bit of bad news. I have exams approaching already so updates will probably disappear for a while. (ie. Like two months?) So sorry about this but I have to study seriously from now on.  
  
Warning: this chapter is 12 pages long.  
  
To my darling reviewers: Shini no Tenshi, cryearthstearsfalltou, DeathsDragon, Ookami Kage, Raizard333, Crystal, blazinfan, Kuria, AlyRain and yami blue eyes white dragon. Thank you for writing such lovely reviews. I feel so happy reading them. :]  
  
I also like to greet the new reviewers: elrohir lover and Dark-Bladed- Warrior, hi! * Waves hand enthusiastically * Thanks for reviewing too. It makes me glad that my fic can still pull in new ones to read. :]  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 40  
  
Treize watched in amazement as a white Gundam with red and black markings, came flying towards them.  
  
Never mind it was a new robot.  
  
Never mind there was now a new threat to the Federation.  
  
Never mind it was heading straight for them.  
  
The new Gundam was flying in somersaults! As it didn't have a mind of its own!  
  
'What the . . .' Treize couldn't fathom a single conclusive thought on it as he watched this new "threat" plough straight into the midst of his army.  
  
In fact, he didn't know whether to laugh or to worry.  
  
All around him, the fight had paused to watch this new intriguing entity as it crashed, and crashed some more, as it flew. And from inside his cockpit, Treize's sound receptors were picking up the most disconcerting sounds.  
  
* Bim! *  
  
* Bang! *  
  
* Crash! *  
  
It seemed that this Gundam was just contended to bump into every single one of his robots.  
  
Treize reached out and switched off the sound receptors. The noise the robot was making was giving him a headache.  
  
"S . . . Sir? . . . Your Orders?" a nervous voice asked. Obviously all of his men were at a loss at this sudden, unanticipated turn of events. Treize sighed and watched the Gundam as it went flying around and bumping. Sending some robots flying while causing others to scramble out of its way.  
  
Then an idea struck.  
  
"Capture that robot!" he rapped out and his followers jumped to do his bidding.  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile, Jess was having the worst experience she ever had in her whole short 17 years of life.  
  
"WwwWhhhHAaaatT . . . IiiiZzzssSs . . . HhhaaAAaappPPeeeEEeNnnNnIIiinnnNGgggg!" she managed to say as the room started to shake most violently.  
  
Frailing her hands around, she finally managed to grab hold of something solid. With inhuman strength she never knew she possessed, Jess brought both hands and feet together, clinging to it as her whole life depended on it. Ignoring any pain that came from tiny objects flying her way.  
  
'Keep mouth close. Keep mouth close,' was the only recurring thought that ran through her head as she held on tightly to the object. A faint memory of a car accident surfaced in her mind; and a bitter-metallic taste of fear hovered at the back of her tongue, like the after-taste of bad fruit.  
  
When the room finally relaxed in it's shaking, Jess realized the thing she was so desperately gripping onto, was very familiar.  
  
'What the . . . a chair? With seat belts?' she thought as she felt along the object.  
  
But all other corresponding thoughts were promptly wiped out of her head as the room started shaking again, more violently than before.  
  
'Mummy!'  
  
***  
  
"You know, Sally can be really useful in distracting," Duo happily commented, lying back against his chair luxuriously.  
  
He and his friends had successfully surrounded the enemy's HQ, weapons ready at hand to execute operation: Termination or Surrender.  
  
But they could have been invisible for all their opponents would care. They were too busy chasing after the new Gundam. As Duo had so adeptly described it, Sally's tactic was like a bowling ball, hitting all the pins and sending them flying.  
  
"Strike 43!" Quatre suddenly exclaimed; sounding real excited. Then he realized he said that aloud and blushed. "Um . . . I meant alright!"  
  
"Hn."  
  
But the Japanese boy's expression didn't quite match the answer he gave. In fact, a gentle frown graced the center of his forehead. Trowa noticed this and gave his friend a questioning tilt of the chin.  
  
"Nothing," Heero replied to the silent question thrown at him, turning his face away.  
  
"No. Seriously what?" Quatre suddenly asked, just noticing himself, the unusual attitude his friend had on. His question drew the attention of the remaining co-pilots and they turned their focus on him.  
  
"Yuy, you're hiding something." It was a statement, not a question.  
  
With a sigh, Heero reached out and pressed a button.  
  
"Who's this?" he asked and beamed to each of them, the interior of their spaceship clinic.  
  
From their own screens, they could all see a woman at the door, pounding on it in her frustration to get out. The door was obviously locked since every alternate minute; she would stop her tirade against the door and hammer away at the sequence pad. Only returning to the door, shouting and pounding, when she found her attempts unfruitful.  
  
"This isn't live, is it?" Duo tentatively asked, when no one spoke after a few minutes of staring hard at this scene.  
  
"It's live," came the affirmative answer.  
  
"Good grief! Then who is in there?" Quatre anxiously asked, clasping both hands together as he watched the new Gundam, still flying around, being chased by hundreds of Federation robots.  
  
"You sure you want to know?" returned a despondent Wufei. "One out of a million that is definitely her handiwork."  
  
Then gearing their Gundams into motion, three boys joined the mad chase, leaving two to take care of the mission at hand.  
  
***  
  
Treize finally got fed up with the situation in front of him. All the Gundam had successfully managed to do was to make him and his army, look like fools. Despite having hundreds of soldiers at hand, hundreds of robots equipped with the latest gizmos, and the latest system at each one of those blundering idiots' fingertips, the Gundam was still happily whizzing around, like a clown just out of an asylum.  
  
Sure, no causalities have been reported yet, but that Gundam had a funny way of reducing his army. One particular method was sending them flying to all four corners of the universe.  
  
Treize closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands as another batch went flying in the direction of planet L1. Judging from the impact of the crash and the speed the Gundam was going, it would take a good fifteen minutes for this new group of victims to rejoin them.  
  
"Sir! Unit 8 just . . ." an anxious voice of a young cadet suddenly reported, cutting through the silence and gloom of his cockpit.  
  
"I know," Treize gritted out, cutting off the young man in mid-sentence. Cracking one eye open, he watched as the Gundam suddenly started flying in circles.  
  
* sigh *  
  
"Everyone withdraw from the last order," he commanded, seating straighter in his seat. His fingers started flying over his system controls, producing an almost continuous clicking sound as he pushed buttons here and there.  
  
"Yes sir!" came the immediate response. From the tone of voice, Treize could detect a small note of relief in it. Obviously his men were waiting for this command for a long time. Treize heaved another sigh of regret.  
  
'I guess this says it all. When you want something, do it yourself!' he grimly thought and geared his robot towards the rotating clown of a Gundam.  
  
***  
  
Jess was getting dizzy.  
  
Jess was getting nauseous.  
  
And as far as she was concern, those two things didn't go well together hand in hand.  
  
'Someone stop this stupid thing! I want to get off!' she mentally screamed in her mind, as she clutched at the seat with all her might. Opening her mouth would be a big mistake if she tried. Just the mere thought of swirling around in her afternoon's lunch, and smelling the horrible rancid smell of undigested food, was enough to give her strength to clamp her mouth shut till the crazy room decided it had enough of spinning in circles.  
  
Meanwhile, in another corner of her mind, she could see flashbacks of her life. Not that she really cared, but she once heard that when someone was close to dying, they tended to see their own life flash before their very eyes.  
  
'Way to go, girl. Death by spinning! How lame can my life get?' she miserably deduced when the image of Johnson and the baboon gang finally popped in her mind. 'And I'm only seventeen!'  
  
However, realizing how bleak the future looked, Jess decided to throw in a quick prayer just in case.  
  
'If there's anybody up there, I forgive everyone, even them!'  
  
But fate seemed to have other things in mind for her.  
  
The room came to a sudden abrupt stop. Silence settled in place of the whistling wind and everything came to a complete standstill.  
  
For a moment, Jess could hardly believe her sudden turn of luck. At first, she thought she was hallucinating, or maybe even conjuring another reality in her head! After all, she had heard many such accounts of people creating alternate worlds in their minds, just to escape from the reality that was really facing them.  
  
But extending one hand out didn't put any pressure on the remaining limbs to hang on tighter. Neither did extending one leg as well.  
  
Within a heartbeat, moving at a speed that she would have found impossible under other circumstances, Jess got herself properly seated in the chair and buckling the seat belts. All before the room took into its mind to have another go at spinning.  
  
But after a few more seconds of silence and waiting, she began to hope when nothing happened. Her dizziness was slowly clearing, even though the nausea remained, and she was beginning to take interest in her surroundings. The only problem right now, of course, was that the room was still pitch dark.  
  
'I need light,' she desperately thought as she groped around the place, as far as her seat belts would allow her. Luck was on her side. Within a minute, her hand closed around a familiar round, oblong object.  
  
Picking it up, she felt along it until her hand felt a button. Then, with a single touch to it, bright light flooded the room. Only that to Jess horror and realization, the room she thought she was in, wasn't a room.  
  
A large screen gleamed at her from under the light. And she spied, in the range of the light, a whole keyboard of controls spread wide in front of her.  
  
'Oh mummy . . .' she thought, shocked as she took in the whole scenery of her room, 'What have I gotten myself into?!'  
  
***  
  
None of the boys were happily with the circumstances in front of their eyes. A large white Federation robot had finally caught the new Gundam.  
  
"Darn it," Wufei cursed silently under his breath. The monster of a robot was leveling its laser gun at the head of the Gundam. Its intent clear that it would happily sever the robot's head, should anyone of them decided to act rashly. No doubt Gundamite was strong enough to withstand the highest heat intensity, but that didn't mean that the insides were as well.  
  
A laser, directed at the correct place, shot at for a certain period of time, could get the insides of the machine to fry. That would mean the girl would fry as well.  
  
Suddenly, the rocket blasters attached to the new Gundam fizzled out and died. Obviously, they were out of gas. So much for the wee chance the Gundam could escape on its own.  
  
"You have to admit, he is pretty clever to capture it by the head like that," Duo praised, admiring the technique used to capture the runaway robot.  
  
"Duo!" Quatre admonished, shooting his friend a disapproving look.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know." Duo conceded, throwing his hands up into the air in a gesture of surrender. "This is not the place and time to admire the enemy. I heard that a billion and one times before, so don't worry."  
  
"So what do we do?" Quatre asked doubtfully, casting a dubious look at Wufei.  
  
"Got me there."  
  
Then the white Federation robot started speaking to them via the short frequency transmittion channel. Wufei's eyes narrowed to slits and his anger rose when he heard the voice that issued forth. Meanwhile, both Quatre and Duo started to look alarmed.  
  
"Arh! Why of all people must it be Treize?" Duo said aloud, saying for all of them what they were thinking. One way or another.  
  
"Wufei?" Quatre tentatively probed, keeping one eye on the gleaming white robot, the other eye on his friend. All of them knew that Wufei had a score to settle with that man for humiliating him. Things were not looking good for the girl.  
  
On an off-hand thought, Quatre realized things never looked good for the girl. First she fell into their world. Next she had to face death's door before playing wife to a real girl-hater. Then she had to undergo training even though she plainly wasn't cut out for it.  
  
And now this.  
  
Quatre felt a pang of guilt over what he had just discovered. Never had he been blind to another person's suffering, but he most certainly had been blind to this one.  
  
'Perhaps because all this time, she took it in her stride with a smile on her face. Or maybe I was too caught up with the war as well,' he grudgingly admitted. And that admission hurt. A lot. With a sudden decision, Quatre decided on his next course of action.  
  
"Wufei, don't do anything reckless!" he shouted at his friend from the screen, hoping to break through the anger and hatred his friend was now building around himself. For a moment, he could hardly recognize the face on the screen as that of his friend. Gone was the calm and neutral look he usually had on. This one was twisted with anger and hatred.  
  
Luckily, his shout was well timed and after a great deal of effort, and sacrifice on Wufei's part, the expression on Wufei's face returned to normal and his eyes now held a calculating look.  
  
"Hey Shinigami," he spoke to his co-pilot. Duo nearly fell out of his chair in surprise. Usually, Wufei spoke in very formal tones, keeping to very formal words of conversation. And that included addressing him either as Duo or You there. The latter used only when he was pissed with him, which was most of the time. To Wufei, it was the highest form of being rude. To Duo, it was a very interesting form of addressing that he could never get tired of.  
  
"I'm listening, Wu-man," he quipped, feeling elated that the Chinese boy had finally acknowledge him as he truly was. That earned him a seething glare.  
  
"Okie . . . Wufei," he quickly amended, blowing his fringe out of his eyes. Boy, the Chinese was still a stick-in-the-mud even after changing his way of addressing him.  
  
Satisfied, Wufei let up his scathing look at the boy and continued: "Go back to the others."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"You heard me."  
  
"Are you mad?" Duo retorted, bending forward to be closer to his screen. "They've got Jess!"  
  
"That is why I'm asking you to go back!" Wufei returned just as passionately, glaring back hard at his friend. "I didn't call you Shinigami for nothing . . ."  
  
"Oh . . ." Realization finally dawned on Duo.  
  
"What are you planning?" Quatre inquisitively asked, watching Duo jet back to the enemy's headquarters before any of the remaining Federation robots could stop him.  
  
"What you always do, my friend," came the calm reply, "Negotiation."  
  
***  
  
Jess sat cross-legged on her seat, the torchlight held high above her head, the Gundam manual opened in her lap.  
  
"Hm . . .," she mused to herself as she poured over the book's contents. "Press the red button to activate systems . . ."  
  
Swinging her torchlight around, she searched for the red button. She didn't have to look far; it was almost in front of her, near her right hand.  
  
With blooming excitement, she reached out and pressed the button. Almost immediately, the purr of machines started as they came to life. Jess watched as the screen in front of her briefly flashed before lightening up with a picture.  
  
'Yes! It is working!' she rejoiced, watching the screen eagerly for the ultimate clue to where she was. For all she may know, she could be lost in space, thanks to the doctors. That thought immediately darken her mood. What she had just experienced wasn't at all pleasant to remember.  
  
'Felt like I hit a meteorite shower or something. Probably even hit a planet at top speed and burying myself six feet underground,' Jess thought, letting her imagination go wild as the picture got brighter and brighter, gaining shape as it did. 'Perhaps I . . .'  
  
Her thoughts went no further than that. For on the screen, Jess found herself staring up into a gigantic barrel of a gun, belonging to a really gigantic white robot.  
  
Jess unconsciously reached out and pressed the red button again. The screen went blank and the machines shut down around her.  
  
It took a few more minutes for her to gather her scattered wits. And when she had finally collected herself together, the very first thought she had was: 'Wonderful. Now I know.'  
  
***  
  
Treize leaned back against his seat, feeling vastly satisfied. It seemed his little plan worked, no doubt it being a little reckless, as he had to stand in the line of the Gundam's flight. But every single one of the risks he took was worth it. He had the Gundam in his hand and the rest of the rebellion group playing to his tune.  
  
Life was so worth living for this moment.  
  
"Surrender and I may go easy on you," he spoke confidently to the two robots facing him. Then he blinked and counted the robots again. He still came up with the number two.  
  
Funny, Treize could almost swear he saw a third when he joined the chase. But then, the newbie had occupied all his attention, so he must have miscounted. Treize shrugged off the feeling of unease and regarded his competitors triumphantly.  
  
"Really?" came a lazy reply, the voice all too familiar. Treize frowned. He knew that voice.  
  
"As you can see here, I have your friend. You, on the other hand, have nothing."  
  
In response, Wufei made a rude noise at the back of his throat.  
  
"I suggest you look behind your back at your home base," came the retort in sweet, syrup tones. With a deep sense of foreboding, Treize rotated his robot's head slightly to get a side view of the HQ. His heart sank when he realized that there were three other Gundams surrounding the base. One of them he recognized as Heero's Wing, the others driven by a certain maniac everyone knew as Shinigami and a very quiet, stone-faced young man.  
  
Of course the Headquarters was bigger than those three robots surrounding it, but Treize knew better than to underestimate the destructive capabilities of the people piloting them. Especially the capabilities of the first two. And he wouldn't count on the third Gundam to be any more merciful than the other two.  
  
"I believe you already had the pleasure of rubbing shoulders with my other comrades?" the speaker of the white and green robot continued, mocking tones now seeping into his voice. "I assure you that we have something as equally important as you do."  
  
Now it was Treize turn to play the cool game.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Well . . ." Wufei allowed his sentence to trail off, giving the listener time to ponder, "I can always set Shinigami on your precious HQ while you try burning a hole in that robot's head, and we can always see who's machine last longer. My friend's or your HQ, nei?"  
  
Meanwhile, Duo nearly fell out of his seat again.  
  
"What do you take me for? A dog?!" he yelled at Wufei via their intertransmittion channel. Wufei chose to ignore him. Choosing, instead, to regard his opponent with the same cool, calm, calculative manner as a businessman regards another in a business proposal.  
  
Treize grinded his teeth together in frustration. He didn't like to be in circumstances that were beyond his control. And this was one of them. Throwing one more hate-filled look at the green and white robot on his screen, he asked in a polite voice, that could only be obtained from years of political training, for a man his standing: "What do you propose then?"  
  
"A truce. A trade-off. That robot for your Headquarters."  
  
Treize swallowed hard. Somehow, he knew the bargain was going to be set like this. But to let go of something so valuable to the Federation.  
  
"And if I decline?"  
  
"You know what Shinigami is famous for," came the cool, curt reply. Treize sighed. He knew defeat when he saw it.  
  
"Fine," he agreed and released the robot's head, lowering his gun at the same time. Meanwhile, the other Gundams blasting away from the enemy's HQ, appeared at his side. Taking hold of the immobile robot, they retreated back to their own home base.  
  
'I'll see you on the battlefield another day,' he promised himself as he watched six robots retreat into the distance, in the direction of their HQ. 'Till then, don't get caught.'  
  
Then turning his robot towards his own headquarters, he gave the final command to his men: "Retreat."  
  
***  
  
All six Gundams touched down at the headquarters, in front of three very angry scientists.  
  
"You have a lot of explaining to do," was the first thing out of Doctor's J mouth when the boys got out of their Gundams and assembled in front of the Doctors in a row.  
  
Five pairs of very solemn eyes regarded him in return.  
  
"Lets start with the basics," he continued, clasping his hands behind his back and pacing. "I suppose I can assume that all of your accounts have been a lie? Duo, answer."  
  
"No sir."  
  
"Arh . . . I see. We have to go into specifics, hm? The gun shooting: she'll help them self-destruct. True or False?"  
  
"True." With blossoming surprise, Doctor J span around on his heel and faced the American boy eye to eye.  
  
"But there seems to be a very large GAP between her performance out field and what you all have reported," he concluded softly, looking into those violet eyes for any sign of mischief or even a lie.  
  
"Please sir, if I may be so bold to answer?" Quatre suddenly spoke, raising his hand up in the air. Doctor G nodded, giving consent on behalf of the other doctors.  
  
"When we said that, we really meant it."  
  
"Elaborate."  
  
"Whenever she was practicing her shooting, she usually made us run." Wufei interrupted, his voice holding a hint of annoyance.  
  
"You boys were the targets?! What insanity drove you to do it? We have plenty of target models to practice on!" Master O exclaimed, horror written all over his face as his eyes searched his young charge for any injuries.  
  
"No . . .," Wufei answered slowly, looking all the more fed up, as if just recalling the training session irritated him. "She was practicing on the Targets in FRONT of her and we were standing all BEHIND her. That onna has an uncanny knack for aiming what's behind rather than in front of her eyes."  
  
"Oh." The doctors were at a loss of words to say after that confession from the boys. Then Trowa raised his hand.  
  
"Yes?" Doctor J asked, giving Trowa the nod to go ahead with his explanation. Instead, the boy pointed at the new Gundam with his forefinger.  
  
"Go on . . ." Doctor G encouraged. Even up to now; Trowa was just too silent for his own good. For a moment, Trowa continued to stare hard at the doctors, as if willing them to understand his action and letting him get away without speaking.  
  
But when this didn't seem like it was going to come to pass, Trowa finally opened his mouth and uttered: "suffocation."  
  
"Yep! Jess!"  
  
***  
  
"And you think for a moment that they have all grown up," Doctor J unhappily complained as he hung from the ceiling upside down.  
  
"Do keep quiet, J," Master O snapped from his position at the pole. He was tied to it with chains. It was only a matter of time before Sally came for them with her medical box.  
  
Scolding the boys for lying had been an easy thing. Pushing the blame on them was another thing. After all, as Duo had so swiftly defended, the doctors had been rather vague on the instructions and plans. How were they going to know what the doctors had planned for her, when the only instruction they had was two simple words: Train her.  
  
No specification of area in which they needed to train her for.  
  
No clarification of why or how they were to teach her.  
  
PLUS the promise that they needed only to evaluate her performance before sending her home. Naturally the boys assumed they meant ground training.  
  
So in the end, when the door to the new Gundam finally opened, out came the girl like a banshee, heart and mind bent on a single thing. Revenge!  
  
"Look on the bright side," Master O suddenly quipped, taking comfort in a little passing thought. "At least we aren't chain to a toilet bowl like Doctor G."  
  
Doctor J rolled his eyes up towards the eyelids and sighed.  
  
Author's Proclamation: Hope you enjoyed that. Will return in two months time. Till then, everyone keep well! :] 


	41. Something's brewin

AN: Hi everyone! Just finished two of my exam papers. So this is a kind of celebration that I got through the first half of the exam periods. Now there's the second half . . . Guess I'll be disappearing again for another month after this chapter. . . Sigh . . .  
  
To my wonderful reviewers: Death's little side kick, Sheren Dreamera, Raizard333, Kuria, DeathsDragon, Ybewd, Seak, chachi, Magical Wisekill and TariofNargothrond. Thanks for your lovely reviews! :]  
  
Hello to some new faces: Haguregumo and Time Chaser1. Hope you continue to enjoy my fic. :]  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 41  
  
Things toned down a lot after the incident with Jess in the prototype Gundam. Not that it was a bad thing.  
  
The doctors finally got it into their heads that the boys may be extremists, but they weren't suicidal. Even Heero with the slight inclination to self-destruct wasn't about to go through the excruciating torture before achieving his ultimate goal. And from his perspective, she might just leave him half alive to suffer the long hours of inhuman pain before death decided to play a hand to his relief.  
  
Or for a worst-case scenario: he might just live after going through all that pain.  
  
Even the Federation had toned down a lot. In fact, it seemed as if they had decided to disappear into the vast space beyond. The only active organization was OZ on the ground and their activity didn't call for much except for ground sabotage. A few bombs here and there, some virus pumped into their computer systems, and "Wahlah"! Instant chaos and mayham.  
  
Quatre stretched out lazily on the sofa where he had been taking a nap. Things had suddenly taken on a temporary surreal reality of peace and tranquility. Covering a huge yawn with his hand, he sat up to look around.  
  
Heero was still at his laptop since he closed his eyes to nap, obviously reading something since his fingers weren't flying all over his keyboard. Trowa lay lounging on another sofa, reading a book with the title: "Home protection: How to make your home appliances be your defense!"  
  
Duo, no doubt, was in his new garage, tinkling about with his collection, on the verge of a breakthrough that none of them (most likely) would understand. Wufei was somewhere on the ship, doing what, only God knows.  
  
Looking to the ceiling, where Jess's room was situated above, Quatre wondered about the girl. He hadn't been able to find her. Short of waiting outside her room at the crack of dawn, she was one hard girl to catch hold off. So any idea to be nice to her or sitting down with her for a nice chat over a cup of tea, went down the drain.  
  
"You know, we haven't got much work to do lately," he opened his mouth to speak to his pals. In response, his two friends moved one eyeball to look at him before returning that eyeball where it had been before. Quatre decided to try again.  
  
"And we haven't enjoyed ourselves in ages," he said, trying his best to sound cheerful despite facing such a disheartening audience. Still no single acknowledgement to show they were listening.  
  
"So I was thinking we should bring the girl out, you know . . . Funfair!" That got him their attention pronto. They all stopped their reading and turned to look at him with wide eyes; their faces speaking volumes of incredulousness. Quatre immediately filed that piece of information into his head. It might come in useful for another occasion.  
  
"No." Heero began, the look in his eyes turning dangerous.  
  
"Way." Trowa finished for him, closing his book and getting up.  
  
"Aw . . . come on, she should be bored being stuck in here," Quatre urged, getting up from his position and facing them. "Plus Trowa works in a cir . . ."  
  
Trowa quickly held up a hand, heading off Quatre's train of thought. Quatre gave him a questioning look.  
  
"Might I remind you that I work as a KNIFE-THROWER assistant?" the red- haired boy requested, a slight tint of annoyance in his tone.  
  
"So?"  
  
"With her kind of luck, Cathy might just get it into her head that Jess might have a knack for knife throwing!"  
  
"Yeah . . . So?" Quatre was still clueless as to where Trowa was getting at.  
  
Trowa marched forwards and bended down till his face was level with Quatre's face.  
  
"Her aiming is not that bad," Quatre quickly protested as Trowa opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"Yes, but I like to be positively sure that I'll remain intact by the end of the day." came the equally quick retort.  
  
Quatre immediately threw Heero a pleading look for help.  
  
"With her kind of luck, that knife might come to me," the messy haired boy said.  
  
"You're not helping," Quatre sulked.  
  
"I wasn't going to," came the smug answer with a smirk.  
  
Just then, the intercom overhead pleasantly chimed. Then came Doctor J's voice, paging for the boys and the girl to proceed to the main control room immediately. Thus bringing the argument to an effective end.  
  
"Not a single word to the girl," Heero hissed at him as they walked out the door, into the passageway. Meanwhile, Trowa directed at him a really intimidating glare.  
  
"Wonder what they want," a familiar voice mused as a familiar form slide up alongside of them. Duo, in his usual navy uniform and braid, had joined the group.  
  
"Don't know," Quatre gloomily answered, "Probably not good news." He didn't need to explain. The last time they had been called together with the girl, was the near fatal request that they train her in the ways of operating a gundam. If it hadn't been for the boys united and impenetrable refusal, plus Duo's cheeky defense that the Doctors were more knowledgeable in that area, they probably would've ended up in Sally's clinic wing and still be lying there up to this day.  
  
Then they noticed Wufei stalking past them in the opposite direction.  
  
"Hey Wu," Duo cheerily called out, clasping hold of the Chinese boy's left shoulder. "The control room is that way."  
  
"I know!" The boy snapped back, shrugging off his hand. "I'm not going there."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You need to ask? Common sense, Maxwell! The "Jess" is going to be there. That woman equates to catastrophe. Disaster! I'll rather be dead than put one foot in the same room as her."  
  
"Now that is exaggerating too much. She's not that dangerous. It's the doctors that make her dangerous," Duo retorted, feeling he should at least defend the girl's reputation to some extent.  
  
At which, Wufei turned his face and narrowed his eyes at him.  
  
"If you're smart, American," he whispered in a threatening way, "you'll disappear as well."  
  
Trowa exchanged a look with Heero. Some things were better done than said.

"Put me down this instant, you imbeciles!" Wufei yelled as he struggled in his bonds. Apparently, Heero and Trowa had resorted to mummifying him in ropes. And since he was bounded all over, they had to carry him as well.  
  
Meanwhile, Duo pulled a finger out of his ear and asked: "Are you sure we don't have anything to gag him?"  
  
Trowa reached out and pulled out a handkerchief from Quatre's pocket. This he held out to Duo.  
  
"Hey! That's mine!" The blond complained in dismay. But Duo took it and looked it once over.  
  
"What's this?" he asked, pointing to a wet spot on it.  
  
"Mucus," came the sour reply.  
  
"Good enough for me," he cheerily accepted and proceeded to try to staff the hanky into Wufei's mouth.  
  
"And you call yourselves my friends!" the Chinese shrieked before clamping his mouth shut and turning his face this way and that to avoid the dreaded handkerchief.  
  
". . ."  
  
"Hn."Meanwhile, the doctors were staring at a lone soul of a girl, who was staring back at them in curiosity.  
  
"That was fast," Doctor J remarked, pushing up the glasses on his nose.  
  
"I was just outside the door when you called," came the reply. All eyes went to the large backpack with a sleeping bag on the floor.  
  
"You didn't . . . decide to make camp outside our door . . ., did you?" Doctor G tentatively questioned. If he wasn't careful, the dreaded scene might come up again. The scene that was played before their very eyes, from morning to night, for the last few weeks, between intervals of an hour to a minute, not a single bit of peace given once they stepped outside their doors.  
  
A nod of the head confirmed their suspicions.  
  
"But you have a room," Master O blurted out, pointing out an obvious fact without realizing the dire consequences. "You should use it."  
  
At which, the girl threw herself on to the floor and started wailing. Together with her wailing, came the banging of fists and a tearful retention all too familiar to the doctors' ears.  
  
"Wah . . . . . .! But that room is not my room!" Bang. Bang "I miss my (sob, sob) teddy bear, my pretty clothes, my PARENTS! Ah hah hah hah. . .! They must (sniffle, sniffle) be beside themselves with grief! Boo hoo hoo! Worry! Wai hah hah hah! Oh, my poor aging mother and father!" Bangs fists on her chest "How I have failed you!" (Sob, sob, sob)  
  
The wailing banshee was back.  
  
Doctor J rolled his eyes towards the heavens while Doctor G sighed into his hands with exasperation. Master O wondered if banging his head on the wall would deafen his hearing by a bit.  
  
"Jess child," Doctor G began at last, trying his best to salvage the situation. But the girl was either not listening or she wasn't going to be defeated at this crucial point.  
  
"You must send me back!" she suddenly shouted, jumping up and pointing a finger at them, scaring them out of their wits. "If not for me, do it at least for my poor old parents' sakes!"  
  
Silence reigned after that sentence. Doctor G moved his eyes left and right to eye his colleagues on either side of him. Somehow he had a feeling this was suppose to be the climax of the moment where he and his co- scientists were suppose to feel motivated enough to send her back.  
  
Unfortunately for the girl, looking at a person with two red eyes and one red runny nose could hardly be inspiring, much less motivating. Plus, sending her back now would only put a damper on their plans.  
  
Doctor J hided a wary smile behind his hand by coughing while Master O turned and started pushing buttons on the controls. Doctor G felt like giving each of his two "friends" a kick in the butt for leaving him with the dirty work.  
  
"Yes . . . well . . ." he began again, his mind furiously searching for a way out of this hellish situation, one that didn't subject them to a worse scene. "We were coming to that."  
  
The bottom lip began to quiver. The eyes opened wide and looked at him pleadingly with a touch of innocence similar to what Duo was so capable of pulling off. Doctor G made a mental note to order the boy to stay away from her as much as he can.  
  
She also made him realize one of the things he would miss when being a rebel: The protective hand of the police force against harassment.  
  
Doctor J nudged him when he kept silent longer than he should have. But Doctor G shook his head at him and walked away.  
  
"You do it," Doctor G said, throwing the words over his shoulders to Doctor J. The attention of the girl, complete with quivering lips and pleading eyes, turned to him. Doctor J felt all his hairs stand on the end.  
  
_'Hm . . .'_ he thought, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Like Doctor G, his mind came up with blanks.  
  
Unless . . .  
  
"If I said that the portal machine is half way completed, what would she do?" He asked himself, unaware that he had spoken his question aloud.  
  
"WAH . . . . . .!!!"  
  
_'It figures.'_

__

__

Jess finally stopped crying, feeling satisfied she had finally gotten her way. Just give them a month they had pleaded on their knees. Just one month and it would be complete.  
  
Under the pretense of wiping away her tears with a tissue, Jess allowed herself a small smile of victory.  
  
Operation irritation was a success!  
  
_'Looks like saving the onion juice had been the right thing after all,'_ she thought as she watched the boys file in through the door.  
  
Things were finally looking up.  
  
Author's Proclamation: See you all in a month time. :]


	42. Jess the leader?

AN: YEH! Exams are over!!! Now I have pure freedom for three whole months and nobody is gonna take that away from me! :]  
  
To my darling reviewers: Raizard333, cryearthstearsfalltou, Ybewd, Death's little side kick, Deathdragon, AlyRain, Chibi Chibichi and haguregumo! Thank you all for your patience. Hope you enjoy this chapter. :]  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 42  
  
Finally everyone was assembled in front of the doctors. Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre and Jess in one row. Wufei, in front of them, struggling in his bonds.  
  
Doctor J gave the nod and Doctor G cleared his throat to start the briefing.  
  
"Due to the girl's inability to do frontline battling," he began, ignoring the Chinese boy on the floor, squirming around in his effort to free himself, "We have decided to restrict her to ground activities."  
  
Blood drained away from five faces and five pairs of eyes grew wide and rounded, staring back at him in horror as they took in what he had just said. Even the boy on the ground stopped struggling to give him the same reaction.  
  
"B . . . beg . . . your pardon?" Quatre all but whispered the question on behalf of all the teenagers gathered in the room.  
  
"You heard him," Doctor J answered instead, stepping forward. "Jess, from now on, will be joining you boys for ground mission work."  
  
At that, Wufei managed to find the extra strength to spit out the disgusting handkerchief from his mouth.  
  
"Have you lost your **marbles**?!!?" he demanded, staring hard at Doctor J from his position at the doctor's feet. Immediately five heads nodded in agreement with his words.  
  
"Am I missing something here?" Doctor J politely asked, trying hard to keep a wary smile from forming on his mouth. Five heads nodded in answer again while a sixth stared back at him hard.  
  
"But we think she'll do fine," Master O sweetly continued on for his colleague, flashing them a smiling full set of teeth. Taking a sneak peek at his young charge, he spied the expression turning from annoyance to thunderous.  
  
And then Doctor G dropped the bombshell by saying: "In fact, we have already decided to make her the commanding leader for the next mission!"  
  
No response from the boys initially as their minds slowly absorbed the facts of what been said.  
  
Then Wufei let it all go.  
  
"ARE YOU NUTS??!! You'll put her as our leader and she may just send _US_ to our graves as well!"  
  
Jess stopped the nodding of her head.  
  
She didn't like the way he argued his last point.  
  
In fact, she didn't even like the way he said it.  
  
To be more truthful, she had been expecting more along the lines of care and concern.  
  
"Funny," Master O commented, coming forward to stand in front of his young charge. "From the reports, I deduced something positive about her ground training."  
  
Duo gave a short laugh while Wufei scoffed.  
  
"If you read between the lines and the many inverted commas we typed in, you'll be much closer to the truth right now," came the sour reply from an equally sour boy.  
  
Meanwhile, out of the corner of her eyes, Jess spied the boys still vigorously nodding their heads in agreement. So much for care and concern. At least for her. The only care and concern the boys were showing were for their _own_ well-being. Jess folded her arms and sulked.  
  
"Jess child," Doctor's G voice suddenly cut through her unhappy thoughts, changing the direction of the conversation as well. "What do you think?"  
  
That question surprised her. She hadn't been expecting concern from the people who were planning to send her on dangerous ventures that could get her killed. Then she saw Doctor J giving Doctor G a sharp jab in the side. Obviously this was something unexpected among the doctors as well.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" she heard him hiss to his co-scientist.  
  
In answer, Doctor G calmly rubbed his side and offered his friend a gentle smile.  
  
"It's not fair we plan things without at least asking the person who is going to be affected."  
  
At that, Doctor J crossed his arms and huffed: "I don't. Heero takes commands from me."  
  
"Well, I do."  
  
"I still think this needs a second opinion. O?"  
  
In which Master O, who was busy freeing Wufei from his bonds, looked up and answered: "I give the directions. He chooses to follow or not, which he usually follows most of the time . . ."  
  
Doctor J immediately clasped his hands together over his eyes and moaned: "You guys are hopeless."  
  
"Reality check, J," Jess heard Doctor G murmur under his breath as he placed gentle hands on her shoulders. "We all got our own way of doing things."  
  
"Now tell us," he began again, looking her in the eyes, "how do you feel about this?"  
  
Jess could feel the room atmosphere tense up: one side wanting her take on the task, the other side wanting her refuse.  
  
_'Why of all times must this happen now?'_ she desperately thought as she contemplated her choices. If she refused, the Doctors would renege on their earlier promise. Already Doctor J was hinting about it by pretending to pull an imaginary toilet flush and making flushing noises. If she agreed, it was almost like signing her own death warrant.  
  
What interesting choices they had left for her: Trapped in this world for all eternality or marching straight into the arms of death with eyes wide open.  
  
Of course there was always Duo . . . if she wasn't fussy about being suicidal.  
  
"Um . . . can I have a third option?" she asked, looking at them hopefully. As she expected, they shook their heads at her.  
  
"You, woman." Wufei started to speak, his eyes staring daggers at her.  
  
"Girl." she corrected him out of habit, her mind furiously thinking of a way to get out of this sticky situation without displeasing either side of the party.  
  
"Whatever. You better **not** accept or I'll . . ." Wufei let his sentence trail off threateningly.  
  
"You'll what?" the girl challenged, bending over to look him contemptuously in the face. Wufei suddenly wished Master O would hurry up in untying his bonds. Trying to look intimidating while lying on the floor wasn't working, especially when the one looking down the nose wasn't you.  
  
"So you'll accept!" Doctor J exclaimed delightedly, gleefully jumping a foot into the air. Jess felt her heart drop somewhere between her feet. If she didn't do something quick, she was going to be marching down the church aisle to the tune of a funeral in a black box.  
  
"Only if I don't have to carry any weapons and I can walk around freely with no worries or care. You know, no need for protection? **Safe** environment? Ring a bell?" she quickly added in, clasping her hands together and looking at the doctors in a REALLY hopeful way.  
  
"Oh! No problem!" Doctor J gushed out excitedly, rushing to the main controls and pushing buttons here and there. His answer shocked both Jess and the boys for they weren't expecting that.  
  
"Urm . . . Did you really take notice of the word: **SAFE** in my answer?" Jess tentatively asked, hardly daring to believe her good fortune. Every one of the teenagers waited with bated breath on the crucial answer.  
  
"Of course, my dear," Doctor J jubilantly replied and made a map appear on the large 50-inch screen. "How familiar are all of you with the Fullerton area?"  
  
Meanwhile, Master O and Doctor G retreated till they were standing beside Doctor J, in front of the large screen.  
  
Wufei got up from the floor, shaking loose the remaining ropes on him before standing in line beside Heero. Duo pulled out a small handheld electronic notebook and keyed in a few area codes. His eyebrows shot up at the search results.  
  
Seeing his reaction, the rest of the boys gathered around him and looked.  
  
"It's a small landed area of 8000 acres of land, owned by two schools," Quatre read aloud for the benefit of the girl, who was keeping distance between herself and Wufei. The girl bleached at his mention of 8000 acres of land.  
  
"You call that small?!!" she protested, looking at him incredulously.  
  
"You obviously haven't been to one of Quatre's sprawling mansions," Duo commented, "put two of them together and you can get 15000 acres of land easy."  
  
"Ack!" was all Jess could manage out. In her world, the miserable plot of 2000 meters of land, shared by 80 residents living in a high rise flat, was already considered a luxury. Looks like she would need to revamp her thinking for this world.  
  
"Saint Edwin and Saint Hilary are affiliated brother and sister schools," Quatre continued, ignoring the girl's discomfort. "It hosts all kinds of sports facilities, hostel comforts and the best educational teachers."  
  
"I've heard of them." He added in quietly.  
  
"Good!" Doctor G said with a wide brimming smile. "You are all going to enroll into the school in two weeks time."  
  
"What?" Heero uttered, staring at the doctors with eyes opened so wide you could see the tiny black flakes in his cobalt blue irises. Meanwhile, Wufei looked thoughtful.  
  
"Really? I get to go back to school again?" Duo squealed with delight, accidentally dropping his notebook in his excitement.  
  
Only Trowa didn't react, keeping his stone expression in place instead. Quatre's reaction, however, was quite the opposite. In fact, his expression fell and he became very silent, choosing to look down at his shoes in a rather downcast way. This didn't escape Trowa's notice and he nudged his friend gently.  
  
He received a shake of the head in reply.  
  
But Trowa wasn't one to give up. His friend was hiding something. He continued staring at the blond until the rest noticed him doing it.  
  
"Out with it Quatre," Duo demanded in a rather dark voice, indicating he would do something about it if he didn't get the answer from him soon.  
  
They watched as Quatre swallowed nervously then battled whatever it was that was bothering him. Finally, he looked up and opened his mouth to speak.  
  
"St Edwin and St Hilary are very _exclusive_ schools. They cater only to the rich and famous children. Children like . . . me. Or kids that are less rich than me but nonetheless rich," he quickly amended, looking down at the ground again in an ashamed manner.  
  
"So? Your point?" Duo asked, giving his friend a questioning look.  
  
Quatre let out a frustrated sigh and went on further: "You get **invited** there if your parent's bank account is big enough to finance their ridiculously high school fees. And everyone knows that it's more of an unofficial matchmaking agency for rich children than a school. It's only a front."  
  
"So why aren't you studying there?" Jess asked the obvious, unable to contain her curiosity as to why the son of one of the richest men in the universe was getting home tuition. If the schools were indeed exclusive, rich parents would usually send their children there to keep them from rubbing shoulders with children of lower status. Plus, to her knowledge, such early associations may bring about future wealth and profitable, convenient marriages.  
  
Quatre gave a bitter laugh and answered: "The school is filled with snobs. If I went there, I would be considered among the elites. And the last thing I want is hundreds of girls, breathing down my neck, while I try to save the universe by sabotaging OZ and the Federation plans. _Do not forget the children of the top ranking officers in OZ and the Federation are there_."  
  
Jess shivered. The way Quatre said his last sentence, with such a dark note in his voice, and a malicious, evil expression on his face; it wiped any notion that Quatre was a sweet, adorable, harmless boy, right out of her head.  
  
Duo surprised them by chuffing at his words. Then he picked up his forgotten notebook and keyed in a few more codes. Once satisfied with what was shown on the screen, he threw the small device at Quatre, who caught it neatly with his right hand.  
  
Raising an eyebrow, Quatre looked at the screen.  
  
"What's this?" he politely asked, looking at the numbers displayed there.  
  
"That, my friend, is the sum of money I have in my bank accounts. 30 million dollars in all. And I'm not including the sum I can get from OZ if you feel this is not enough." Duo calmly returned, burying his hands deep into his pockets.  
  
Meanwhile, looking over Quatre's shoulder, Wufei choked. Then it turned into a cough before finally a laugh.  
  
"What?" Duo asked the Chinese boy, looking defensive. "You've got it better then me?"  
  
With a smirk and a nod of the head, Wufei held up five fingers.  
  
"5 million more? I can easily get that," Duo chaffed, putting his nose up in the air.  
  
Wiping tears from his eyes, Wufei answered: "No silly! 50 million more."  
  
"Hurh!"  
  
Then taking Duo's notebook out of Quatre's hands, Wufei shut it down.  
  
"You don't have to worry," he spoke to the blond over his shoulder as he handed the device to its disgruntled owner. "Heero's been hacking for a while now. Trowa . . . I'm sure he has a large bank account for his own activities. The job at the circus, as you should already know, is only a façade."  
  
"Yeah. But in that school, pockets aren't the only things that matters . . ."  
  
"Relax Quatre," Duo interrupted, bouncing up and draping an arm around his shoulders. "We all have laughed death in the face and lived! Danger is no stranger to us. So whatever is in that school can't be worse than being shot at by 300 armed men."  
  
Quatre sighed and gave up. The rest would understand once they stepped into the school and lived its life there for a while.  
  
"Finished? Good," Doctor J quipped, looking very pleased. "All of you, except Jess, will now be dismissed. Jess, would you kindly follow Doctor G to the back room? That's a good girl. As for the five of you, Jess will brief you on the identities you will assume, the curriculum you will take and the missions you will be expected to complete. Any questions before you are dismissed?"  
  
Duo raised a hand. Doctor J acknowledged this by giving a slight nod of the head in his direction.  
  
"What happens if we need more money when we're in school?"  
  
"Ah . . . I see. For finance . . . it's the usual. Don't find us. Dismissed!" 


	43. Identities and a hamster called Ida

AN: Here you all, the next chapter. :]  
  
To my wonderful reviewers: Kuria, Raizard333, AlyRain, Death's little side kick, Magicia Wiseskill and haguregumo, thanks for you undying loyalty and perservance in reviewing this fic. I am very fond of you all.  
  
I see a new reviewer as well. Greetings AngelOfRebirth! I hope you will continue to patronize my fic and enjoy the upcoming chapters. A word of warning, I usually update every two weeks.  
  
But since it's the holidays, I expect to update every week. That is if something does not come up in between. :]  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 43  
  
Jess couldn't restrain the huge grin on her face as she made her way to the kitchen. Tucked underneath her arms were the portfolios of the boys' new identities and their ID codes.  
  
The boys were already gathered at the table, sipping coffee and making small talk. Each waiting anxiously for the briefing to begin. So when Jess stepped into the room, naturally all eyes turned towards her. With a silent nod towards them, Jess slid into the seat held out for her by Trowa.  
  
"Let's start," she said, trying her best not to let laughter creep into her voice. Heero had on his usual solemn look, the one where he puts on when receiving a briefing. Duo was obviously very excited; he had a huge smile plastered on his face. Wufei, despite trying to look unconcern, had his right ear slightly turned towards her, which was a giveaway he was paying attention. Trowa was . . . Trowa, the neutral look on as always. And for Quatre, he didn't look as displeased as he was earlier, perhaps the enthusiasm of his friends rubbing off him.  
  
"Now about the curriculum you'll all be taking on, you will be studying the basic: Mathematics, English, Biology, Physics and your own mother tongue, if they have it. If not, you'll be taking French instead, which will be Quatre's subject since they don't have any Arab teachers down there. For your extra-curriculum, which is your ECA, to promote a healthy body as well, the doctors signed us up for swimming."  
  
"Why swimming?" Quatre asked, looking bewildered. "I prefer fencing and Heero prefers horseback riding. Trowa, I believe, likes . . . gymnastics and for Duo . . ."  
  
"Swimming is just fine," Duo cut in, finishing the sentence for Quatre. "Been around the navy for a while and haven't been trying out my swimming techniques for quite some time now."  
  
"I guess Doctor G picked that sport for you, didn't he?" Wufei taunted the brown chestnut haired boy, "Guess we all can't be as lucky as you to have such a loving grandfather."  
  
"Yeah. Poor you," Duo returned, good-naturedly taking it in his stride.  
  
"Heh! Weak guy," Wufei muttered under his breath, before turning his back on Duo. "I prefer, on the other hand, sword fighting or hand to hand combat. A more manly, self-improving . . ."  
  
"Dangerous and possibly fatal sport that any school, in its right mind, **won't** provide," Jess finished for him, dropping the files on the table.  
  
"Hey, no touching yet!" she chided Heero as he stretched his hand across the table in the act of retrieving his own file from the pile. "I'm not done."  
  
"There is more?" Wufei asked, sounding truly incredulous.  
  
"Yep. I haven't told you the compulsory supplement curriculum that the Scientists have signed us up for."  
  
"And that is . . .?"  
  
"Home Economics class. They said it'll do you good, improve your current homemaking skills with sewing and cooking."  
  
For a moment, all the boys stared at her like she had gone off her rocker. Then Duo, frowning hard, opened his mouth to ask: "I don't get it. Isn't Home Economics class more of a girl's subject or something? I mean . . . , it should be more suited for you . . . than for us."  
  
"Oh, don't worry. I'm taking it too."  
  
"But if you're taking it, then what does it have to do with us?" Quatre questioned, looking very disturbed. "Not that I'm against learning cooking . . ."  
  
"Oh, lets cut the chase!" Wufei finally blurted out, feeling his patience reached its limit. "Why are you commanding leader? What exactly is your purpose?"  
  
"My purpose?"  
  
"Now is not a good time to act dumb, wo . . . girl. You do not want me to get mad now," Wufei threatened in a quiet voice. "Better yet, let me show you." And he broke his coffee cup with one hand, rubbing its remains to fine grains of glass.  
  
"Oh. My purpose," Jess repeated, not in the least feeling perturb. Master O had sworn on his life that Wufei wouldn't hurt a girl, as long as she questioned him about his honor before he could hit her. But she could smell the tension in the room as the boys waited for her answer. Taking pity on them, she answered: "Well . . . I'm suppose to be your alibi."  
  
"Our what?" Heero asked, half getting out of his chair to lean across the table to hear her better.  
  
"Your alibi. You know . . . when you guys go missing in school. Cover up for you when you go for your missions."  
  
"But how can that be possible?" Quatre cried out, pointing out the facts. "We're in different schools. You will be in St Hilary and we will be in St Edwin. Each of the schools is a single gender school. And no doubt it is an unofficial matchmaking agency, it _is_ suppose to separate the boys from the girls. You can't cover for us, you will be getting yourself and us in even _worse_ trouble."  
  
Jess wondered if she should drag on the suspense some more. But looking at the boys' anxious and worried faces, she decided they had enough stress. Plus, the time on the wall indicated she was well past the mark of revealing the truth.  
  
"Who ever said we were separating?" she asked simply.  
  
There was a mad scramble as every one of the boys made a dive for their portfolios.  
  
"Give me that! It has my name on it!" Heero squealed, waving the coffee pot threateningly at Duo.  
  
"Has anyone seen my file?" came the desperate cry from an equally desperate little blond guy.  
  
". . ." Trowa used his cup to hit the offending hand snatching the file out of his hand.  
  
"Are you called **Wufei**?!" the Chinese boy shouted at Burton. "And get your stinking feet off that piece of paper, Maxwell! I believe it's mine!"  
  
"Who's got Maxwell?! Give me Maxwell!" the American cried, holding Quatre's file out of the little guy's reach. "Give me my file first or he doesn't get his!"  
  
"Eek!"  
  
"Enough!" Jess yelled out, unable to take anymore of the mayhem happening before her eyes. She had already suffered being squashed against the table as Trowa leaned in to get his file, drenched with coffee from the coffee pot Heero was waving about like a mad man, and a sore cheek, courtesy of Quatre's elbow hitting her face in his effort to snatch his file out of Duo's grip. Any more and she was tempted to deal some damage herself.  
  
"All of you, drop your files!" she commanded, standing up and forcing Trowa to back away as the chair slid back.  
  
"But we . . ."  
  
"SILENCE!" she shouted, ignoring the shocked looks on their faces. "Drop. Those. Files. NOW!"  
  
They did as they were told and Jess collected them, sliding loose sheets of pages back into their proper places and arranging them into a pile neatly. Once this was done, she looked up.  
  
"When I call you name, stretch out your hands and receive your file. But on no account, may you open them without my permission. Heero."  
  
Heero solemnly stretched out his hand and received his file with a solemn look. Likewise, the rest followed as each of their names were called out.  
  
"Wufei." Jess called out the last name and waited for the Chinese boy to be seated properly before giving the final instruction.  
  
"You may now open and read."  
  
Silence settled into the room as the boys began to read. But Jess held her breath, knowing what was to come. She didn't have to hold long. It came sooner than she expected.  
  
"What's this?" Heero demanded almost immediately, getting out of his chair to point at his new name on the identity page.  
  
"Helen Raceland," Jess helped him read aloud.  
  
"I know that!"  
  
"I'm Dorine Raceland," Duo stammered, getting out of his seat in shock.  
  
"_Quarisa_? What kind of a boy's name is that?" Quatre murmured, sounding a bit faint.  
  
". . ."  
  
"I'm Wuling?!! This is not a boy's name . . .!"  
  
"IT'S A GIRL'S!!!" they all shouted together in horror.  
  
"Yep!" Jess agreed, smiling widely. "The school we'll ALL be attending will be St Hilary's."  
  
"**WHY?!?!**"  
  
Jess's eyes popped wide open. They all shouted the question in unison with the same expressed, intense agony reflected in their voices and on their faces. Of course for Trowa, it was only in the voice.  
  
_'Interesting . . .'_ a naughty thought popped in her head.  
  
"Well, the doctors felt that you guys would need to broaden your horizons, learn to be in the opposite gender shoes, take on new heights. Plus OZ won't suspect you guys are residing in the girl's school when you infiltrate their base," Jess thoughtfully answered, mentally ticking off all the reasons the doctors taught her to say to them. "And oh yeah. They said there were no vacancies over at the boys' side, so they had to make do with the girls'."  
  
"I'll kill them!" Wufei screamed, breaking off a wooden stake from the chair while Heero reached under his shirt and pulled out his trusty ole gun. Meanwhile, Trowa had pulled out a small velvet bundle filled with knifes, and was choosing the sharpest three. Duo had pulled out a small device and with a wicked grin, was turning the only knob on it to a word that said: "High". Quatre, on the other hand, was gathering the cups and putting them in the sink.  
  
His extraordinary action and absolute calm demeanor stopped the rest in action.  
  
"Aren't you upset?" Duo asked, surprised that Quatre didn't seem affected by this unpredicted turn of events.  
  
"Oh yes, I am," the blond replied gently and turned on the tap to wash the cups.  
  
Trowa went over and rested a hand on his forehead.  
  
". . . no fever . . ."  
  
Quatre laughed gently while the rest of his companions eyed him warily.  
  
"You're not . . . seriously thinking of disguising as a girl . . . are you?"  
  
"No . . . but they did give some good reasons. Besides, I have a better plan. One that teaches them a lesson but it won't finish them off."  
  
"Why, in the nine heavens, not?" Wufei demanded, putting the stake down on the table. "You're on to something, aren't you?"  
  
"We Arabs have always this thinking of giving our enemies, what would you call it? A fate worse than death." Quatre smiled a tiny evil smile. The rest, on seeing that smile, started to smile evilly as well, even Trowa.  
  
"So what's your suggestion?" Duo quipped, his eyes starting to sparkle with mischief.  
  
Taking a quick glance at the clock, Quatre put the last clean cup in the dryer.  
  
"Our cooking skills need improving, right?" he chuckled, his eyelids lowered, giving him a rather malicious, cunning look. "What say we give them another chance at sampling it? Any flavorings you'll guys would like to add?"  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
Two hours later, the doctors were staring at one very sick hamster, lying on its side and puking its guts out.  
  
"I told you to run the food through the chemical separator first," Master O chided his two fellow scientists as they watched the hamster heaved its last tormented breath before expiring. "How are we going to explain to Sally that her hamster really died this time? You saw Duo's arm when he gave it the close brush with death. His whole right arm was covered with needle holes!"  
  
"Don't look at me. It was J's idea to use the thing as a food tester," Doctor G quickly protested, pointing a finger in Doctor J's direction.  
  
"Hey! I don't recall anyone protesting against my suggestion earlier. You guys are just as guilty!" Doctor J proclaimed, folding his arms across his chest in a defensive manner. "Besides, the main issue is how do we break such a . . . delicate issue to Sally?"  
  
Silence fell upon the room as the scientists pondered deeply about the available solutions to them. Unfortunately, all ended with only one inevitable result. The merciless, cruel and terrible punishment that will be dealt to them once Sally found out.  
  
"We can't tell her this. We stole her hamster in the first place," Doctor G moaned, fear making his face ghastly white. "But I don't want to become a human pin cushion!"  
  
"Yes . . .Well . . . I can't think of anything short of . . ." and then Doctor J's face brightened as a new idea flashed in his mind.  
  
"Short of . . ." Master O prompted, looking eagerly at him. Even Doctor G started to get some color in his cheeks as he waited hopefully for the ultimate solution to their distressing problem at hand.  
  
"Getting her a new hamster!" Doctor J squealed happily, delighted at his own cleverness. His friends, unfortunately, didn't seem to share that same happiness.  
  
"What?" he asked, feeling surprised they weren't ecstatic about this flawless solution.  
  
"You want us to tell her we poisoned her hamster and in compensation, we got her a new one?!" Doctor G all but shrieked his question. "It's like gift-wrapping and delivering ourselves into her hands to do as she wish!"  
  
"And I must warn you I'm almost seventy and I can't run very well or very far," Master O added in, wheezing a bit to remind them of the fact he was getting on in his age.  
  
Doctor J sighed in frustration. At times like this, he wondered whether his friends were really geniuses or not. Launching into the finer details of his plans for the sake of his two ignorant pals, he explained: "What I meant was, what happened if we got a hamster that looked like Sally's hamster? How in the world can she find out?"  
  
Immediately his friends' faces brightened and they started grinning, nodding their heads understandingly.  
  
"Now there's just the matter of who goes shopping. O and me can't leave. So it's up to you, J," Doctor G concluded on behalf of everyone.  
  
"I can't do that. I still have to mail the boys' complete identities to Saint Hilary! But I do know who'll be going out tomorrow," Doctor J said with a little cunning smile. "O, would you be so kind as to get Jess online with us? Better yet, send for her. Immediately."  
  
Bringing his hand up to his forehead in a mock salute, Master O turned on his heel and marched towards the controls. Meanwhile, Doctor J motioned Doctor G to step closer to the dead hamster.  
  
"Here," he commanded, placing a tissue into his friend's hand while picking up a pair of pliers. "Let's clean her up before the child gets here."  
  
"Yuck!" Doctor G made a face and set about cleaning the hamster as best he could. 


	44. Renegade

AN: Ok! This chapter to me was rather exciting. Hope you like it.  
  
To my beloved reviewers: Skeren Dreamera, Shini no Tenshi, Ybewd, Raizard333, Kuria, Magicia Wiseskill, Dream Keeper, AlyRain, Death's little side kick and cryearthstearsfalltou. Wonderful reviews as always! Thank you! :]  
  
And a nice, big hello to new ones: ShadowStar21, crazy-lil-nae-nae and Sukeishima. Just to let you know, I usually update every two weeks. Since it's the holidays right now, it is once a week for now.  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 44  
  
Sitting on a shuttle plane for the first time, was a rather unpleasant experience. Especially when you're without information on the intense pressure build up at the beginning of the shuttle's lift off, to the sudden heart stopping drop at its entry into a planet's atmosphere; it was one experience that Jess would like to forgo as much as possible, for it gave her wobbly legs and a heaving stomach.  
  
And sitting next to Sally during the trip wasn't helping either. Not when she knew the reason behind the worried look Sally had on her face, and the knowledge that she was about to give a helping hand in covering up the doctors' crime. It only made her stomach more upset than it already was.  
  
"Here," Sally said, passing her a wet tissue, "use this to wipe your face." Then taking the paper bag from her hands, she threw it into the nearest bin.  
  
"You really should stop being so nice to me . . ." Jess muttered, more so to herself than to Sally. She received a questioning look before Sally broke into a bashful smile.  
  
"It's my job. To care for others."  
  
Jess opened her mouth to argue, but then decided better of it and shut it quickly. There was nothing left to argue that fact other than to let the cat out of the bag. And to do that now would most certainly jeopardize her life.  
  
Taking her shoulders, Sally gently guided her down the street.  
  
"The doctors handed me about 3 million dollars on the (1) electron card for you to use," Sally went on, ignorant of the discomfort she was giving to the girl by being so gentle and caring towards her. "It's for your own personal use, so don't you go spending a single cent on the boys. Did the boys hand you their own electron cards for their shopping goods?"  
  
Jess obediently nodded, afraid to look into Sally's eyes for fear she might give the truth away.  
  
"Really?" The surprise in Sally's question made her look up against her will. "Even that male chauvinist pig?" Then Sally withdrew a gold card from her inner coat pocket. "I got this off him personally myself. Where did you get yours?"  
  
"Ma . . . Master O . . ." Jess stammered out her answer, and quickly looked down again.  
  
"Ok, out with it!"  
  
"What?" Fear made Jess's mind blank. It was just too soon and sudden for Sally to guess the truth. And she wasn't even mentally prepared for the consequences either.  
  
"I . . . I don't know what you're saying," she nervously laughed; in an effort to buy herself some time to get her mind back on track and thinking. Meanwhile, her muscles were tensing up, slowly freezing and making walking difficult.  
  
"Hand it over," Sally demanded, looking at her expectantly with her hand outstretched. Now Jess was confused. How does one hand over truth when it was made of words and air?  
  
On seeing Jess confused expression, Sally sighed and further explained: "Wufei's card. Obviously Master O was covering up for his boy when you went to see him for it. You don't want to spend an old man's life savings now, do you?"  
  
Immediately, Jess's mind clicked and she realized what Sally really wanted was to exchange the cards. Mentally heaving a sigh of relief, she quickly handed over Master O's card and took Wufei's and hers.  
  
Soon they came to an intersection. On the left, the street diverged to a huge hospital, which was about some distance away. On the right, quaint shop-houses lined the street, selling varieties of every kind. And in front, the road stretched on into a dense forest, which partially obscured a lone mansion on a hill quite a distance away.  
  
"See that house?" Sally suddenly asked, bending down till she was on level with Jess's face and pointing to the huge mansion. "That belongs to Winner." Jess belched at the knowledge that a 15 year-old boy would own such a huge luxurious "house". The length of the mansion, from Jess point of view, could easily accommodate five high-rise flats, side by side, with space to spare in between.  
  
"So . . . so I guess this mansion a . . . and the forest belongs to him?" Jess stammered her question, hardly daring to believe her eyes. In her world, not even the queen had this much extravagant wealth in one location.  
  
Immediately, Sally burst out laughing.  
  
"No silly," she fondly answered, once she managed to control her laughter. "This whole place belongs to him as well. His family is the landlord of this area." And she threw her arms wide, encompassing the surrounding hills, streets and hospital as well. Jess tried hard not to ogle while her mind tried hard to keep up with the fact that Quatre was indeed a really rich guy. Which was hard, since she saw him every other day, looking like an ordinary boy with ordinary habits.  
  
_'Of course minus the facts he likes to cook on an on-off occasion, pilots a gundam and do chores . . .'  
_  
And as the doctors predicted, Sally turned and headed off towards the direction of the hospital.  
  
"I'll meet you here in two hours time," she called back over her shoulders as she walked away. "If you ever lose your way, which is highly unlikely, just look to the house and navigate!"  
  
Jess watched till Sally's form disappeared through the hospital door, feeling worse at the deception she was about to be involved in.  
  
_'Perhaps I should tell her,'_ she contemplated, as she walked down the street, not noticing the many shops she passed.  
  
The doctors' instructions had been straightforward: To get the hamster first before everything else. Pulling out the specially designed ball that hung from a chain around her neck, Jess gave it another look. Its body was covered with holes so the hamster could breathe easily, and its insides were lightly coated with sleeping powder, so there would be minimal annoyance during the trip and back. The length of the chain was also adjustable, so that the ball would hang just between her breasts, thus eliminating any suspicion on Sally's part.  
  
"Just give it time to work," Jess murmured to herself, mimicking doctor J's confident answer to her worries that the hamster might bite her. "Yeah, right." And she placed the ball back into her oversized T-shirt.  
  
Looking around, Jess realized she had reached the end of the street. There was nothing in front of her except the extension of the huge forest she saw surrounding Quatre's mansion earlier. Frowning, Jess shrugged her shoulders and turned around to hunt for the pet shop. She missed the glint of mental coming from behind a tree just a few meters away.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
"Now Sir?" A man spoke to his friend by the transmitter.  
  
"Not yet." A coarse voice answered. And then the person smiled an insane smile.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------  
  
Jess pulled out the photo and compared the hamster she had just bought with the hamster in the photo.  
  
_'My job would have been much easier if the hamster was still alive when the photo was taken,'_ Jess commiserated, noticing the dullness of the fur and the flat look in its tortured eyes that once was filled with such liveliness. _'I would have been much better off if the doctors didn't decide to feed it the meal the boys poisoned in their thirst for revenge.'_  
  
Then sighing, she placed the new hamster into the ball before tucking it safely into the hollow in her sports bra. The animal moved about a bit before succumbing to the effects of the sleeping powder. Soon, it was just a dead weight on her neck.  
  
Pulling a small piece of paper from her pocket, Jess looked at the contents she had drawn up for the boys. The doctors would make special underwear and swimming suits for the boys so as to hide the prominent fact that they are boys. Only the chest area, where the bra should go, was to be chosen by Jess. Looking around, Jess spotted the lingerie store across the street. Quickly, she crossed the street and entered the store.  
  
"May I help you?" A polite and friendly salesgirl greeted her. Jess tried hard not to think that five sixths of the bras to be bought, was to be given to boys.  
  
"Your first time?" the salesgirl asked, mistaking the faint blush on Jess's cheeks as a beginner.  
  
"Nn . . . No!" Jess unwillingly burst out and blushed some more. She hadn't been expecting to react that badly. Meanwhile, the salesgirl hid a tiny laugh behind her hand, her eyes sparkling knowingly as if she knew her secret.  
  
"I . . . I'll just get my own," she quickly stammered and marched to the back of the shop to hunt before any more awkward situations came up. Meanwhile, from the corner of her eye, she spied the girl disappearing behind the counter.  
  
Seeing that she was the only one left in the shop, Jess thanked her lucky stars. Then, within a blink of an eye, she was snatching bras off the racks, her attention half focused on the bras, the other half focused on anyone entering the shop. Meanwhile, her mind mentally ticked off the sizes.  
  
_'Heero's scrawy – size A. Duo a bit wide on the chest area – Size B. Quatre – Size B should be fine for him. Trowa is tall and broad shouldered – Size C have to do or he'll look flat. Wufei . . .'  
_  
Jess had a flashback on what she had accidentally heard earlier that day when she came to collect the final instructions from the doctors and to iron out the problem about Wufei. Just as she neared the room, she heard him screaming: "This is **nuts**! There is absolutely no way! NO WAY I'm following any orders, especially from a woman who can't even lift a gun and shoot straight! She is the most _helpless, useless, **incompetent**_ woman I have ever seen in my entire life!"  
  
Master O mumbled something in reply that must have been disagreeable, for the boy remained silent for a few seconds more before storming out of the room. This change had been so sudden Jess didn't have the time to hide. So she had no choice but to confront the angry boy. Jess stiffened and braced herself as Wufei saw her in the passageway, anticipating a heated exchange between the two of them. To her surprise and horror, he spat at the ground near her feet before storming off.  
  
Never in her life had she felt so insulted!  
  
_'I think some fats would look good on him!'_ she thought as she grabbed another hand full of C size bras. _'Lets see if he'll ever insults me again!'  
_  
Dumping the bras on the counter, Jess separated them into groups before giving the girl a smile. In return, the salesgirl gave her a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Are you sure you'll grow into all those sizes?" the girl questioned, a curious look on her face. Jess wondered if her face could ever burn more with embarrassment than it did before.  
  
Apparently it could.  
  
And apparently, embarrassment knew no boundaries.  
  
"Fa . . . family . . . members," Jess managed to choke out, trying hard to avoid the girl's searching eyes.  
  
"Ah . . ." she replied but there was something in her tone that stated she needed more convincing. "But frankly, I think the A size ones should be the only ones you should be getting from the store."  
  
That struck an all too familiar nerve in Jess.  
  
"Just round them up according to their groups," she commanded, giving the salesgirl a good glare and refusing to back down when she received a surprised look. "I'm paying for them **separately**."  
  
The girl tched as she shook her head but she started ringing up the cashier. Annoyed, Jess slammed the six cards on the table and waited impatiently to pay for each group, drumming her fingers on the counter. Apparently, in this world, there was no such thing as customer service or privacy.  
  
But before the transaction could be completed, the earth shook. For a moment, Jess thought she was sick or something as the earth swayed under her feet. But then, when the glass of water slid off the edge of the counter, she realized something else, much larger, was happening. The salesgirl must have thought likewise, for she rushed out of the shop into the street.  
  
The shocked expression on the girl's face, followed by her unexpected action of turning around to run up the street, was enough to get Jess to run out of the shop to check out what was happening. A horrible sight greeted her eyes.  
  
Just a few meters away from the shop, three huge purple robots were devastating the whole town. And from where Jess was standing, she could see the forest at the end of the street was in flames and it was spreading.  
  
Suddenly, one of the robots holstered up a gun and pointed it at a pretty, pink and blue shop selling baby clothes at its right. In one second, Jess watched in horror as that shop house was reduced to a pile of ashes. The other two were just as bad. One had a claw attached into its arm and was making deep grooves into the walls of the shop houses it could reach. The third had a laser gun and was slicing things into halves. From the town water barrel to pillars that held up the shop houses.  
  
One by one, shop houses crumbled into dust or were reduced to ashes. People running about, rushing past her, in an effort to save their own lives. Children crying, people screaming and yelling . . . And Jess was rooted to the spot. Too afraid to move and hardly believing she was looking destruction in the face.  
  
Then her blood went cold as she watched a young child, crying as he walked, wander into the street.  
  
_'Get away!'_ Her mind mentally screamed since her actual limbs and muscles were frozen with fear. _'It's dangerous!'  
_  
And as she watched, the child stumbled on a stone and fell. Right in front of the robot with the fire gun. Jess stopped breathing. Somehow hoping that maybe, just maybe, that there was a spark of human compassion in the pilot driving the robot.  
  
But the robot raised its gun and pointed it at the child.  
  
_'Oh my GOD!'_ she mentally cried out, half praying that the one above heard that. And then, she started running towards the child, desperation giving her the extra strength and courage to face such a monstrosity.  
  
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"Anything nice on TV?" Quatre asked, sitting down next to Duo.  
  
"Nah. Nothing much except . . . Hey!" Duo's finger had hit on the news channel.  
  
"Looks like three renegade robots are on the loose," Heero announced on entering the room. "Heard they were hijacked by three drunken pilots."  
  
"How did you know that? Did you hack into OZ database again?" Duo questioned, a perplexed look on his face.  
  
"Hardly. It's on the radio too," Heero calmly answered and sat down next to Quatre.  
  
"What do you know? Maxwell finally decided to get some real education beside watching those junk shows on TV," Wufei commented, striding into the room with Trowa.  
  
"Your praise is very much appreciated," the American returned smoothly, placing the remote on the table.  
  
"Hah!" and the Chinese settled himself down on the sofa's arm next to Heero. Meanwhile, Trowa chose the other end, beside Duo.  
  
"Hey, its live! We are getting real time updates!" Duo whooped, feeling elated over such an unexpected treat. Usually, only edited versions were shown on TV.  
  
"That fire gun is pretty good . . ." Wufei mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.  
  
"Claws not bad too," Trowa added in, his eyes sparkling at the damage the robot was able to deal to the shop house on its left.  
  
"That laser is pretty weak," Heero proudly proclaimed, looking extremely satisfied that no one could beat Wing's high-powered laser gun yet.  
  
"That child . . ." Quatre suddenly uttered. "I know him! He's Madam Rosite child!"  
  
"Who's Madam Rosite?" Duo asked the question everyone wanted to ask.  
  
"One of my father's tenants. Turn up the volume! Now!"  
  
Snatching the remote off the table, Heero had the volume turned up to full in a blink of an eye.  
  
"Oh my goodness!" Quatre shrieked, grabbing hold of a shocked Heero's arm. "He fell! In front of the one with the fire gun!"  
  
"Hn," Heero replied, shrugging off his hand.  
  
"That robot is . . . it's raising the gun and pointing it at him!" Duo barely finished his sentence, anger making his muscles tense up. "How could it? It's an INNOCENT!"  
  
"Its war," Trowa summed it up for him, before clasping his shoulders in a sympathetic way.  
  
"I hate this . . ."  
  
"We all do," Wufei agreed, looking at the floor with downcast eyes.  
  
"Hey wait!" the excited reporter voice suddenly cut through the gloom and doom surrounding them. "Someone is rushing to . . . to save the boy! It's . . . it's a girl! And a Chinese too! Could this be one of the famed doubled headed dragon clan descendents?!!"  
  
That caught the boys' attention. And they looked up, just in time to catch sight of a familiar black-haired girl, hair escaping from its ponytail to reveal the uneven lengths, and wearing an oversized T-shirt and oversized pants that came up to her knees, rushing head on into danger.  
  
Silence descended as each boy took a moment to register in his mind, as to who this familiar female was on TV.  
  
"Say Quatre . . ." Heero suddenly asked, his eyes still fixated to the TV.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Where does this Madam Rosite stay? Which planet and which area?"  
  
"Planet L1, the Louisia place. Why?"  
  
"Because . . ." and all eyes turned to stare hard at Quatre. "That was where Sally and Jess were headed to do their shopping!" The answer escalated into a yell and all of the boys jumped off the sofa.  
  
"How fast can we get there from here?" Quatre desperately asked, looking around for an answer.  
  
He received grim looks in reply.  
  
"Fifteen minutes from here if we jet real fast," Heero grimly explained, resettling himself back on the couch.  
  
"We'll only be there to clean the mess and perhaps to start another war with OZ on that turf again." Duo deduced, following Heero's example and resettling himself on the couch.  
  
"This can't be . . ."  
  
"Well, I've got a solution," Wufei said, pulling the blond back down on the couch. "We watch and you can pray that that weak woman survives."  
  
Trowa, who was watching this tiny exchange, shook his head and sighed.  
  
_'That girl is gonna need some miracle alright. Some big, huge miracle, that is,'_ he concluded and glued his eyes to the TV screen.  
  
Author's Proclamation: (1) Electron card – similar to debit cards but the entire cash amount is stored on that card without any identification attached to it. Sort of like a cash card. 


	45. Restoration

AN: I kinda enjoyed writing this chapter. It has been in my head for a while. One of the original segments before I got distracted. :]  
  
To my darling reviewers: Skeren Dreamera, Crystal Tempest, Shini No Tenshi, ShadowStar21, Raizard333, Ybewd and Dianas-Lotus. Thank you all for faithfully reading and reviwing my fic.  
  
To the newcomers: my-parents-worst-nightmar and Harpy Death Angel, thank you for reviewing the fic. :] Normally I would update every two weeks. But since it's the holidays, its once a week. Hope you will continue to enjoy the subsequent chapters.  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 45  
  
"**STOP!!!**"  
  
A sudden yell cut through the delicious, hazy feeling Daniel was enjoying. Then a female, with messy black hair, came rushing up to stand in front of the young boy. Arms outspread as if they could hold back the firepower his gun could generate. Daniel laughed. It was such a ridiculous idea. But the female was kinda cute, even though she could do with some improvements around the chest area, and he was kinda feeling lonely right now too.  
  
Flipping on the loudspeakers, he slurred into the mike: "Heylo, cute. . .sy. What kenda . . . do for ya?"  
  
Jess secretly made a face. From the speech, she could tell the man piloting the robot, was drunk.  
  
"I would demand you cease this . . . this senseless . . . destruction immediately!" she cried out, feeling incensed as to why such people were allowed behind the controls.  
  
That made all three pilots in the robots laugh.  
  
"Your' funny!" Daniel hooted into the mike. "Tall me anaher joke."  
  
"This is not a joke, my good sir!" Jess insisted, trying her best to keep her cool. To reason with a drunk person may be difficult, but it wasn't impossible. "I must implore you to . . . to remove your robot from here! Immediately! You are causing many people great distress. Including myself!"  
  
"Her' that? She is in distress!" Daniel joked to his friends. His comrades laughed in answer.  
  
"So how ya wanna be saved, littl' girlie?" his friend asked before bursting into another round of laughter. "We'll ken be ya knights in shinin' armor'."  
  
"By your grace, of course," Jess returned, eyeing the huge opening of the gun still aimed at her. "That is, if you'll be kind enough to leave or remove this gun from my sight."  
  
"Such high sounding words, you think she's lookin' down on us?" the third friend questioned, his voice the most alert sounding amongst the three.  
  
"Mocking us, possibly," Daniel mused before returning his attention back to the girl. "We'll need more convincin' lass! Less high pretty soundin' vowels, more straight talking if ya get wha I mean!"  
  
_'Well! The nerve of him!'_ Jess thought, feeling highly affronted. So much for trying to be diplomatic! Looks like a firm hand was need here.  
  
Waving her arms around, Jess said: "look around, my good men. Do you like what you see? Where are all the pretty houses and peaceful neighborhood? Fire behind you and utter destruction surrounds you! Do you like what you see?" Then Jess lowered her hands and secretly signaled the boy to run. Not needing a second prompting, the boy took off like a shot before she could even blink.  
  
Meanwhile, the men taking in the scenery did not notice one of their hostages escaping.  
  
"You, lass!" Daniel voice suddenly boomed out of the loudspeakers, halting Jess from escaping herself. "What are ya up to?" This time, Jess realized the voice was less slurred and more alert. And a sinking gut feeling told her that this was not good.  
  
"Na . . . Nothing!" she quickly said, putting on her best innocent look, Duo style.  
  
"Hey! Where's the little boy?" the third friend questioned, answering her doubts that he was indeed more observant and less drunk than his other two friends. "Do you see the little boy?"  
  
"No. What about you Dan?"  
  
"I don't and something tells me this lass isn't too straight forward with us either. You've got ten seconds to talk."  
  
"About what?" Jess asked, feeling herself go stiff and rigid. Already, the insides of the gun were beginning to brighten, signaling that energy was gathering in the main body of the gun.  
  
"Oh anything," came the cheerful reply, which was ironic to the sad and painful fate that was awaiting her. "Til it is time to disintegrate you."  
  
"Wonderful," she said, internally surprised that she could answer so calmly. And then she let them have it. The straightforward talk they wanted so much to hear.  
  
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"What, in the nine heavens, does she think she is doing?!" Wufei fumed, storming up to the television screen and glaring hard at the girl.  
  
"Have you no morals?! You are lower than animals! Pigs to exact!" they could hear the girl shriek at the robots. "Where is your compassion? Your heart? The natural inborn love for all that is human and living?!!?"  
  
"From the sounds of it, she is teaching them about human kindness?" Duo offered helpfully.  
  
"With her last few seconds of remaining alive?!"  
  
"And let me tell you something!" the girl on the TV screen shouted, pointing a finger at them, "I have known guys who are more men than you'll ever be! And with hearts . . . compassion bigger than yours . . . and they're probably half your age! You . . . you . . . YOU MURDERERS! You soulless beings! You . . ."  
  
"You want the answer to that?" Duo asked a now speechless Wufei, who was now reduced to just staring at the lone female form on the television screen.  
  
Meanwhile, the female on the screen ranted on. "You are even worse than pigs. They at least know how to feel grateful to the humans who feed them. And they don't go around destroying people homes and killing out of sheer fun! Not even the tigers or lions do that! They just kill for food and don't kill for sheer pleasure . . ."  
  
Heero nudged Quatre in the side, causing him to start.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Pray harder."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Ten seconds is up and she is still talking."  
  
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Jess finally stopped her tirade when she ran out of breath and steam. If she was to die now, at least she was satisfied she had her views heard first and possibly her death might just eat at their conscience.  
  
_'If possible, haunt them for life!'_ she gleefully thought, accepting her miserable fate now that she had it all out.  
  
Then she noticed the gun's interior was back to being black. The gathering energy in the gun's body had disappeared.  
  
_'Whoa! Did I die without noticing?'_ she thought, feeling herself all over. Then she remembered that ghosts could feel themselves but not solid living things.  
  
_'Oh well,'_ she thought, eyeing the gun in front of her. _'It's worth a try.'_ And she gave the side of the gun's opening a good whack with her hand.  
  
"ooOOWWWWW!!!!!!" she yelled, hopping here and there as she furiously shook her hand to get rid of the painful sting. Turning around, she sighted something that made her blood freeze and forget the pain in her hand. An army, comprising of hundreds of robots, were lined up behind her, all of their guns trained at her and the three robots.  
  
_'Wonderful!'_ she thought miserably as her eyes took in her situation. _'Out of the water, into the frying pan.'  
_  
Then a white robot, leading the army of purple robots, stepped forward.  
  
With trepidation, Jess watched the door of the robot opened and a young man, about the age of 23, alighted from the cockpit. Descending to the ground by the rope pulley system.  
  
Jess breath caught in her throat as the young man stepped forward and introduced himself with a devilish smile that could melt a few women's heart.  
  
"Treize Khushrenada at your service, Milady. A most inspiring speech, if ever, I have heard in my lifetime."  
  
And for the first time, Jess did the most ladylike thing at the right moment.  
  
She fainted.  
  
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"That . . . That's Treize!" Wufei splattered, unable to say anything else with anger consuming his whole being.  
  
"Yes, and he is the guy who is saving her," Quatre mused, looking slightly tickled pink.  
  
"She better get the media straight she is **not **from my clan," Wufei threatened, jumping up from his position on the floor near the television set. "Or I'll show her the meaning of grinded bones personally myself."  
  
"Why not? What she did was pretty heroic. Saving the boy's life and challenging danger in the face of death," Duo defended, taking the remote out of Heero's hand and lowering the volume.  
  
"No girl in my clan will do such a shameful thing as . . . as fainting! And there was nothing heroic in the way she saved that boy. It was just pure, dumb luck as usual for her to survive!"  
  
"Are you sure you're not making this up as we go along?" Duo cheekily asked, flashing a dimpled smile at the rest. He received knowing smiles in kind from the rest.  
  
"Injustice! You question my truthfulness and do me great dishonor, American! Mark my word! One day, that will be your downfall." With those words, Wufei marched out the door.  
  
"Fei! Sounds to me like a bad case of jealousy if you'll ask me," Duo muttered to himself and switched the channels till he found what he was looking for.  
  
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The sudden rapid knocking on the door shocked the scientists out of their concentration on their respective projects. They didn't react for a moment, just standing there, trying to understand why the door was making sounds.  
  
Then Wufei's voice was heard shouting: "Who locked the main controls?! O! Get this door opened. I need to talk to you!"  
  
Hastily, all the scientists went into action, sweeping their projects under books, files and into cupboards. In one minute flat, the workbenches were spotless.  
  
With a press to a button on a gray remote control, Doctor J had the door unlocked in no time while Master O went to the entrance to receive his charge. The door slid open to reveal a slightly breathless and red-faced Wufei.  
  
"Yes, Wufei?" Master O gently asked, using his body to block the boy from entering the room. But it was unnecessary, as the Chinese boy had no intention of entering the room.  
  
"I . . . um . . ."  
  
"Go on," Master O prompted, waiting for him to answer.  
  
"I . . . I'll accept this mission. But not because I want to! It's the onna's fault she is so weak!" And the boy dashed off down the passageway, leaving a very surprised scientist behind.  
  
"What was that O?" Doctor J called out to him.  
  
Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Master O answered: "I believe the boy's common sense is finally kicking in."  
  
"That is great. Now would you kindly step away from the door?"  
  
"Certainly," Master O replied and returned to the workbench. Meanwhile, with a touch to a green button, Doctor J had the door closed and locked in a second.  
  
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Treize barely had time to react before the girl went into a dead faint. One minute she was standing there, mouth agape as she stared at him. The next minute, her eyes rolled up into her eyelids and her body folded in on itself, in what resembled to be a perfect faint from the lack of oxygen.  
  
Treize immediately rushed forward to catch her before her head hit the ground. It was bad enough that she was fainting. It wouldn't do to have her head concussed as well. Meanwhile, the back of his mind registered the presence of his female companion, Lady Une.  
  
"How is she?" she whispered, coming forward to look at the girl.  
  
"Should be exhausted after what she went through," he replied, placing the girl gently into Une's outstretched arms.  
  
"Got a lot of guts," the lady admitted, which was quiet rare to hear such praises out of her mouth. For a moment there, Treize could almost swore his lady companion eyes turned gentle as she gazed at the girl's peaceful face.  
  
Treize threw back his head and laughed. "Aye!" He agreed heartily and marched back to his awaiting robot. "If you excuse me, I have to deal with three idiots for endangering the people's lives here."  
  
"Anything else you need me to remind you when we get back to the headquarters?" Lady Une called after his retreating back as she backed into the nearest building shelter with the girl in her arms. She watched as her man descended up into the robot's cockpit. Out of the corner of her eyes, she spied the three renegade robots making good their escape, heading towards the burning forest at the end of the street.  
  
"Remind me to dispatch a letter of apology to Mr Winner," came the reply. And they were off, marching after the three culprits. 


	46. Lady luck

AN: Inspiration comes suddenly but since I was busy, it had to wait till Wednesday.  
  
To my darling reviewers: ShadowStar 21, Raizard333, Shini no Tenshi, cryearthstearsfalltou, Death's little side kick, Magicia Wiseskill, haguregumo, and AlyRain. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the cute footnotes, assumptions and adorable quirks in all your reviews. Hope you will enjoy this chapter a lot as you did with the others. :]  
  
I see a newcomer: Greetings to Angel – Memories! Nice to know you like the fic so far. :] Hope you will continue to enjoy it for the chapters to come.  
  
On a little sad note, I am going to get a job. This updating may return back to updating every two weeks. Hopefully it won't but I don't think I have any other option. Take care and see you all again.  
  
On with the fic!  
  
Chapter 46  
  
"Look . . . She's coming to!" Someone whispered excitedly in hushed tones as Jess struggled to open her eyes.  
  
Bright light painfully pierced through the slits the moment she crack-opened them, forcing her to close her eyelids in a hurry.  
  
"Easy does it," another person's voice encouraged. Gentle hands came to curve under her back, helping her to a sitting position.  
  
Bit by bit, her eyes became accustomed to the light, slowly allowing her to regain her sight as they did. Finally, she was able to open the both of them fully to take a good look at her surroundings.  
  
The first conclusion she came up with was that this place was not the same place she fainted at. Gone were the pretty shop houses and burning forest. Instead, four white walls, a ceiling fan and a bed, which she was currently resting on, replaced them.  
  
Second conclusion was that this was not Sally's clinic, for there were no equipment and cabinets containing medicine, in sight. Much less a sign of the orange-brown haired woman.  
  
And last but not least, strangers, comprising both men and women, surrounded her, all looking at her eagerly. And exactly like a scene out of her worst nightmare, she was wearing a nightgown right in front of all these people. Never mind it was hospital garb, a nightgown was a nightgown. Jess had been schooled well on what was proper and what was not by her very own, darling mother.  
  
Hitching the blankets up to her chin, Jess gave it her best shot.  
  
"**Eeeeyaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!**"  
  
The men, realizing what an awkward position they were putting her in, ran out of the room as fast as their legs could carry them. Leaving behind, the women with red faces and the uncomfortable job of giving excuses to a now hysterical girl.  
  
"Miss, please!" One of the younger women, looking about her age, said to her while placing a hand over her mouth to stop the scream. "Calm yourself!"  
  
"Mmmrfff Mwwrhffsiiif?!!" Jess replied though the hand covering her mouth. "Arrff Vuff Woolfssann??!!"  
  
_Translation: "Calm myself?!!" "Are you insane??!!"_  
  
"I don't know what you just said," the girl admitted, looking a little embarrassed. "But we'll be glad to listen if you promise to stop screaming."  
  
For a moment, the Jess pondered whether to go along with it or not. But then, looking at the room, half filled with women looking at her pleadingly, Jess decided to give in. Plus, on hindsight, she wouldn't get anywhere if she didn't do as the lady requested. Giving a slight nod, she watched as the girl hesitatingly removed her hand.  
  
"Where am I?" was the first question out of her mouth.  
  
"You are in Winner Hospital," a short, blond lady, looking about thirty with hair escaping from its bun, answered her.  
  
Jess was surprised. She had been expecting to wake up on the ground and seeing Treize concerned face looking down at her. Or at least, if he wasn't a gentleman, the whole army of robots gone and she lying in the middle of the road.  
  
"Was I out that long?" she whispered her question, half afraid to hear the answer.  
  
She received nods from every single lady in the room.  
  
"You were out for half a day!" another lady, hair the color of autumn leaves, gushed out. From the looks on all the women's faces gathered there, Jess could see they were loosing their initial anxiety; excitement and enthusiasm taking over instead.  
  
"Oh, I see." she said and narrowed her eyes. Something was fishy about the way they were dressed. Most were wearing flocks. A few had two pieces of clothing: A blouse and a skirt. Not one of them wore pants. Jess blinked a more few times to be sure. The image stayed.  
  
"You were carried here! By Lady Une!" Another lady squealed, looking positively delighted. Jess's jaw dropped. The last thing she remembered was Treize introducing himself. And as far as memory serves her, she couldn't, for the life of her, recall any woman other than the man with his hand held out to her in a gesture of self-introduction.  
  
"Are you positively sure?" she questioned once she got her voice back, trying her best to hide her overwhelming surprise.  
  
All the women in the room nodded as one.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"She even picked up your tab and said: Charge it to OZ!" another girl exclaimed. This one looked about ten and was hugging a huge teddy bear. "I want to grow up just as cool as her!"  
  
She received a lot of giggles from the surrounding women. And the woman towering over her, obviously her mother, gave her a playful pinch on the cheek.  
  
"Really?" the older woman teased, before tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear lovingly, "You better study hard then."  
  
Meanwhile, Jess wondered if common sense had fled the room. To her knowledge, the last thing anyone would want to become would be Lady Une. The lady had two extreme personalities!  
  
"Um . . . Do you happen to have a Doctor Sally here?" she quickly asked, changing the unsavory direction of the conversation.  
  
She received questioning looks in reply.  
  
"Doctor Sally?" one of them repeated her question. Jess nodded.  
  
"No such person," came the quick answer. "Perhaps another hospital?"  
  
Jess silently moaned her demise.  
  
_'I should have asked Sally for her identity before we separated!'_ she regretted, looking down at her hands. Now she was most likely alone and without help on this planet.  
  
"Is something wrong?" The same girl, who covered her mouth earlier, asked. A look of concern was written all over her face. Stretching her mouth into what she hoped resembled a smile, Jess shook her head.  
  
Then someone marched to the front, pushing the women aside. Jess found herself staring up into a very familiar face. Lifting up a hand, the girl pointed a finger at Jess.  
  
"I know what it is she is so upset over!" the girl proclaimed, looking extremely pleased. "It's all those bras that she didn't take from the shop after paying for them!"  
  
If the ground could have opened up a hole then and there, Jess would have happily jumped in.  
  
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"Sally! Welcome back!" Doctor J jovially greeted the woman once the small transport pod settled into place. All three scientists were lined up in a row, alongside the landing strip, watching her as she stepped down from the cockpit.  
  
"J, G and O," Sally greeted, nodding to each of them in turn.  
  
"Where is the girl?" Doctor G questioned, realizing that there was no one else alighting when there should be one.  
  
"Back on L1," came the casual reply. "She was still out when I had to go. Don't worry, I've left her a note. She'll find it when she gets back her own clothes."  
  
"Ah. I see," Master O said, rubbing his chin. "Then we'll just get going . . ." And all three men simultaneously turned around and started heading for the door.  
  
"Not so fast." Sally's voice rang out just as the three partners in crime were about to make good their escape. The dangerous, soft quality in her voice was enough to halt them in their steps. "I don't suppose you know anything about this?" And she held out a ball full of holes, attached to a chain, with a hamster sleeping inside.  
  
Without turning their heads around to look at the object she held, the three men swallowed hard.  
  
"Busted?" Doctor G squeaked his question to his two fellow men.  
  
"Busted." Doctor J gravely replied.  
  
"Make a break for it!" Master O hollered and broke into a run, his two friends following close on his heels.  
  
Meanwhile, behind them, a woman uttered a terrible war cry.  
  
Then the chase started.  
  
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Jess crumpled the note and threw it into the toilet bowl. The instruction on it had been simple. "Go to Winner Hotel, I've already booked a room for you under the name of Wendy Brown. I'll pick up the tab and you tomorrow. P.S: don't be late and destroy this note!" it had said. The only problem was she hadn't done any shopping yet, what with the commotion and all. And there was still the problem of collecting all those bras she had paid for already, if they weren't incinerated to ashes.  
  
Pulling on her T-shirt, Jess contemplated her options. She could obey orders and spend the night in the hotel. But her problem would still be unsolved. Or she could go shopping and then go spend the night in the hotel. But regarding how little time she had to book in before the hotel struck her off the registration list, her shopping would probably be only half done.  
  
That would leave the last option: To do all the shopping and then spend the night somewhere else before heading to the hotel lobby first thing in the morning.  
  
_'But where?'_ she mentally questioned herself, flushing the toilet to remove all evidence. Her mind still drew a blank even after thinking for a few more minutes while washing her hands. Sighing, she unlocked the toilet door and stepped out.  
  
She received a big surprise as an explosion of confetti and cheers greeted her. Then the salesgirl from the bra shop ran forward and dumped a huge bag into her hands.  
  
"Just what the doctor ordered," she laughingly said, giving her a sly wink before running back into the crowd. And before Jess could even fathom what was going on, two men bearing a banner on two sticks, marched forward to stand beside her. On the banner, the words: 'Town Heroine" were written in large, bold letters. Bulbs flashed and cameras clicked. Jess suddenly wished she could run and hide. All the attention she was getting was making her terribly uncomfortable.  
  
But as suddenly as the cheers began, it died down almost instantly. The cause of it was the boy, now accompanied by his two parents, stepping forward.  
  
"I must thank you for what you did today," the woman said, extending out a hand. Stunned and speechless, Jess could only take the hand and shake it. The lady was half a head taller than her and she kept her reddish-brown hair tied up neatly in a bun. She wore a small pair of round spectacles from which sky blue eyes peered out to scrutinize her, and there was a light dust of freckles across her cheeks and nose bridge, giving her a rather homily but yet elegant look.  
  
But the thing that drew Jess attention was the crimson flock, made of velvet, which the woman wore. It had tucks and folds in the right places and on closer scrutiny, Jess could tell it was very well tailored as well. The stitches were tiny and the outfit fitted snugly to her figure. Indeed a fine workmanship of tailoring, the likes of such Jess had never seen in her life before.  
  
Seeing how captivated she was with her dress, the woman patiently waited for Jess to finish admiring it.  
  
"I am Madam Rosite and this is my husband, Mister Weither," she continued, once Jess was able to tear her eyes away from her dress. The husband was even taller than his wife by a head and green eyes greeted Jess in a thankful way. "This young man you saved today is my Josh." And she brought the reddish-brown haired boy forward to stand in front of Jess.  
  
As if on cue, the boy whipped out a white rose and held it out to Jess.  
  
"Um . . . Thank you," Jess managed to mutter out, taking the flower from the boy's hand. It was a rather unexpected action.  
  
"I understand you were in town to do your shopping?" the lady asked, her eyes looking at Jess in a most calculating manner. Jess obediently nodded. The lady smiled on seeing her reply.  
  
"Then you are most welcome at my shop!" And seeing the perplexed look on Jess's face, she quickly added: "I own the only clothes shop in this town. And it would be a wonderful treat for us if you would grace us with your presence for the night."  
  
Immediately, Jess started grinning. Finally, something was going right for her. 


	47. Space Return

AN: Just had my computer repaired. So happy! :]  
  
But first, a heartfelt thanks to my ever enduring reviewers: Shini no Tenshi, Kuria, ShadowStar21 and Raizard 333. You guys make my day with such lovely reviews. :]  
  
And for the first time reviewing: Welcome Bunch-o-Nuts, Moon Fighter (Sorry about the 4th chapter. Sometimes, fanfiction get some website problems. But after a day or two, it returns to normal :]) and Bunny. Hope you will enjoy the further chapters that I put forth.  
  
And thanks to all you wonderful people out there, for the reviews so far! :]  
  
Now on with the fic!  
  
Chapter 47  
  
By the time Jess got back, three days had passed. This was because the planet had turbulent disturbances, hence restricting flight and shuttle service operations. Not that Jess minded. Such delays were god-given since some of the clothes had to be made from scratch and needed time to be completed.  
  
"Welcome back!" someone excitedly squealed and then she had a fleeting sight of long, brown-chestnut hair before she became engulfed in a huge hug.  
  
"Um . . . Hi . . . Duo," she mumbled out and quickly disengaged herself from his arms, face blushing like mad. Back in her world, the boys tended to keep their distances. And being single since birth, Jess had never gotten into such close contact with boys before!  
  
"How was the shopping trip?" Quatre questioned, coming up to give her a similar hug. Jess quickly stepped back before it could happen.  
  
"Great!" she said, flashing him a wide smile and holding out her hands in a gesture to stop him. "Um . . . where . . . where I come from . . ., we don't get this close." She further explained on seeing his puzzled look.  
  
"Ah . . . the weak woman returns," an annoying voice rang out, sparking off an all too familiar pissed feeling inside of her. Not exactly the welcoming face she wanted to see either on alighting from the transport pod.  
  
"Girl," she corrected out of habit, turning her back to him and receiving bags of clothes from Sally's hands. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the first two boys were already laden with similar bags as well. "Nice to know you put in effort to greet me."  
  
"Hn," came the usual Heero greeting, as he came up to receive his load.  
  
"Heero," she acknowledged, nodding to him.  
  
A tap on her shoulder and she found herself looking at outstretched hands belonging to a certain red-haired teenager.  
  
"Thanks Trowa," she said, gratefully putting half her bundle of bags into his hands. To her enormous surprise, he took her other half as well and proceeded to dump them at Wufei's feet.  
  
"Hey!" the Chinese boy protested. But he received a rather scathing look in answer from his tall fellow mate, which didn't let up until he picked up all the bags. Then grumbling, he obediently followed the boy out the door, the rest trailing after him.  
  
"Where are they going?" Jess asked the older woman, hands outstretched for more shopping goods while her eyes watched the boys exit out the door. A purr of machinery startled her and she turned to face the cockpit of the pod, only to see Sally alighting empty-handed from it while the glass ceiling gently closed behind her.  
  
"Kitchen, most likely. And no more goods," she finished with a smile, lowering the surprised girl's hands. "You better catch up with them before they make a mess trying to figure out which clothes are theirs."  
  
Nodding her understanding, Jess quickly turned around and ran out, hoping she wasn't too late to reach them.  
  
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"Ok, I understand the bras and pretty dresses. But what's with all these fruits?" Duo asked the room in general, holding up an apple for all to see. All the boys were sitting at the table, looking at their latest finding.  
  
". . . Orange . . ." Trowa muttered and then whipped out a knife, eyes gleaming. He hardly got to eat any of the sunny fruit since young, and always had a secret mad craving for it. Partially because he was always so busy with his two jobs and he couldn't eat it straight off like an apple, and partially because most oranges, especially those juice in cartons, had a lot of preservatives and didn't taste anything like the real thing. And from the smell of the fruit, Trowa could tell it was ripe and ready.  
  
Closing his eyes and inhaling the tangy, sweet scent of the exotic fruit in his hand for the last time, Trowa got ready to plunge the knife in to remove the skin. Only to find the orange missing. Looking around, Trowa's eyes encountered a familiar shape of a woman's waist that was connected to a chest, a neck and finally a face. Meanwhile, her hand held the missing fruit  
  
Jess stood towering over the boys, trying to keep down that insane urge to kill them all. Clothes littered the whole kitchen, in a for-all-to-see show, placed over spots and areas that may not be clean. Bras hang from nooks and hooks, like some sick pervert's trophies. The basket of fruits was overturned, spilling it contents all over the table and floor. And to top it all off, all of them were holding a fruit, one even ready to eat the fruit he held!  
  
"Put that apple down, Maxwell, and move away from the table . . . NO! Don't get up from there!" she shrieked as she saw the shoe of the American boy was about to land on a pretty flock, whose material was made out of silk. "Change my mind. Stay. STAY!"  
  
The poor boy was left with a foot in the air, looking most uncomfortable since the rest of him was sitting. But Jess couldn't care less. She quickly gathered all the clothes and dumped them into any of the shopping bags they could fit. With the fruits, she located the giant picnic basket the shopkeeper had so nicely given her, and put them all in, thanking her stars that not all the fruits had been emptied out.  
  
"As you all already know," she began on a slightly breathless note since there was a lot of packing to do, "the identities you are to assume doesn't come with your image. The main reasons for this shopping trip is to get you all dressed like girls, have your picture taken and have it sent over to the administration of the school by this Saturday. That is in two days time."  
  
Then she noticed Wufei raising an unwilling hand.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I like to change the surname," he said sulkily, looking most disgruntled.  
  
"Request denied," Jess answered promptly, relishing the ultimate power that came with leadership. Since the beginning, he had the power to deny her of her rights and boy! Did he make full use of it. Now it was her turn!  
  
"But why? What's wrong with my own surname?"  
  
"The doctors felt you may become more easily identifiable when they check on the schools," Jess briskly explained, digging her pockets for that piece of paper on who should get what. "Hence, you'll be taking after me instead, for protection."  
  
"WHAT?!!" The boy roared, getting out his seat to look her square in the face. The chair scrapped against the floor as it moved out, making a horrible screeching noise. "Take after some **WEAK**, GIRL's _NAME_??!!"  
  
"Yep. And oh yes, I almost forgot." And her hand whipped out and snatched some hair off his head.  
  
"AHH! Are you crazy!?!!" He yelled, his hands going up to protect the remaining crop of crowning glory on his head.  
  
"Hardly," she answered rather dismissively, placing the hair into her pant's back pocket. "The doctors need it to clone more hairs for hair attachments. Could the rest of you be so kind as to hand me some of yours? All except Duo, of course." And she set about pulling out envelopes from her front pockets.  
  
Without a word, each of them plucked a few strands from their heads and handed them over to her. Taking the strands from each boy, Jess placed each type of hair inside the appropriate envelopes, each labeled with a name and numerals.  
  
"What are the numbers for?" Duo curiously asked, his eyes looking at each of the envelopes on the table in turn.  
  
"Hair length."  
  
"Oh. Can I ask another question?"  
  
"Sure. What is it?"  
  
"Can I put my foot down now? It's getting heavy."  
  
Sigh "Yes, you may."  
  
"Aren't you gonna put my hair in my envelope?" Wufei questioned pompously, tilting his chin in the direction of his envelope, which was still empty.  
  
Jess shook her head in answer.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"I think it's safer here," she replied, patting her back pocket with a smug look on her face.  
  
"Oh really? What are the odds I can't get it from you?"  
  
"Truthfully: zero if you're determined. But . . ." and she let that sentence hang in the air for a while, shuffling all the envelopes into one pile. "That's my butt and if you don't mind being called a pervert for the rest of your miserable life . . . "  
  
"You . . . You **dirty**, CHEATER!" he grounded out through clutched teeth.  
  
"I can live with that." And she gave him a smirk, feeling extremely satisfied on seeing his face go red with anger.  
  
Putting the envelopes safely aside, she started digging through all the bags till she found what she was looking for. With a triumphant smile, she pulled out the piece of paper with a flourish.  
  
"What's that?" Duo asked, eyeing the paper skeptically.  
  
"Your clothes types and bra sizes," came the answer and the boys cringed from the delighted smile she had on her face.  
  
"I'm not ready for this," Duo whispered to Heero, looking at him pleadingly.  
  
". . . Too late . . ." Trowa replied instead, looking a bit sickly himself.  
  
Hauling the large bag of bras on the table, Jess checked the table for dirt. So far, it was spotless, save for an old stain that even turpentine couldn't remove. Jess shuddered to think what could cause a permanent mark like that on a metal table, and quickly overturned the bag, spilling the bras out and hiding the old stain.  
  
Once all the bras were emptied out, she set her mind to separating them, placing each group in front of each boy. Here and there, taking brief breaks to confirm she was doing it right.  
  
"Ok . . ." she spoke once she was finished, swiping a hand across her forehead to rid of the sweat that had gathered there. "That should be it." It had been no easy task separating the bras for such a large group of people.  
  
"I'm an A . . ." Heero muttered, looking at the size of the bra.  
  
"Hey cool!" Duo proclaimed, holding up his own bra. "Size B!"  
  
"Same here," Quatre echoed after him, sounding quite surprised. He had been expecting smaller since he was the shortest of the group.  
  
"Great, we can exchange! By the way, trade you that flowery one for this lace one over here?"  
  
"No!"  
  
". . ."  
  
Meanwhile, Wufei remained silent, his face pinched and white.  
  
Noticing this unusual attitude, Duo prodded him by asking: "What did you get?" All the while trying to peer across the table and get a glimpse of the Chinese boy's bra size.  
  
"You set me up!" He shouted, pointing a finger at the girl.  
  
"He got C," the girl replied nonplussed, answering Duo's question and ignoring the heated boy accusation. All the boys, except the one who got the same size, goggled at his pile.  
  
"Hands off, Maxwell!" the angry boy growled as the American reached out to snatch one of his bras.  
  
"Trowa got size C as well . . . " Quatre quickly intervened, trying his best to maintain peace in the group and pacify the angry boy. And attention naturally turned from Wufei to Trowa.  
  
With a faint blush on his cheeks, the boy bashfully pulled the bras towards him and dumped them on his lap. Out of sight, out of mind.  
  
Being practical, Heero opened his mouth to ask: "Hollow?"  
  
"No," Jess quickly answered, jumping into action. With some effort, she placed the large picnic basket of fruits in the center of the table.  
  
"Line up, please," she requested, digging through the basket for the respective fruits. The boys lined up accordingly, Heero at the front and Wufei at the back.  
  
"Why fruits?" Duo questioned from behind Heero, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.  
  
"The doctors said the pholefinic, skin-adjusting, color coordinating, artificial breasts won't be ready till one week after you start school. That is when the first lesson of swimming start," Jess explained, taking a quick glance at the line of people before doing a quick review of the piece of paper she placed on the table next to the basket.  
  
"True, but you could always go for those cotton-stuffed things to place them in there," Duo wisely pointed out.  
  
"They're called pads, Duo," Jess patiently corrected, now searching for Heero's item that seemed determined to be at the bottom of the basket. "Better yes, but the doctors instructed it wouldn't do to have you draw attention to the trash you throw out on the first week of school. And since fruits are biodegradable by nature, they can be rid off more easily. "  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Here you are," she said, dumping a large pomegranate into Heero's hand. "Please cut it into half before you use it for tomorrow's dress up." Nodding solemnly, Heero took the pomegranate and went back to his seat.  
  
To Duo and Quatre, she handed each of them two oranges. Noticing the slightly disappointed aura around Trowa as she handed him his grapefruits, she winked and suggested: "Exchange tomorrow." Following her train of thought, without changing expressions, Trowa walked back to his place with a light skip to his steps.  
  
Then it was Wufei's turn. Jess had been dreading this from the start but there was nothing she could do. A job was a job and you couldn't just turn it down because you shared an enmity with one of the colleagues.  
  
"You set me up and trust me, you will pay," Wufei threatened under his breath once he was sure Trowa was out of hearing range. Stepping up till he was nose to nose, he gave her his famous death glare. Again.  
  
Usually, Jess would like to punch his face in such situation. But like usual, she could only return his glare in kind.  
  
"You can try," she challenged, glaring back at him full in the face.  
  
"Quit wasting my time and give me my fruit," he snapped at once, feeling all the more irritated that another woman didn't conform to conventional standards.  
  
"Your fruit?" she repeated, now giving him an innocent look. "Why certainly." And Jess reached in and picked out her favorite fruit.  
  
"Here!" she smirked and held out two small durians to him. "Enjoy!"

Author's Proclamation: Next week - dress up! heh heh . . . :]


	48. Dress day

AN: I'm sorry this chapter is a **month **late. The reason is that I have finally found a job. A dream job. I'm a . . . LIBRARIAN!!!! _bubbles start to float around her merrily_ So I'm afraid updates are going back to their normal two to three weeks interval. But as an apology, this fic is about 16 pages long. Hope you enjoy it!

I apologize to all my reviewers. Due to the lack of time, I can't include your name for this chapter. But I want to thank you all always. :]

Now on with the fic!

Chapter 48 

"Ok, who shall have the honor of going first?" Jess asked once everyone was inside the temporary dressing room.

It used to be one of the spacious living rooms on the ship. But the doctors, on understanding the dire need of the situation through Jess, had taken it upon themselves to provide everything for the big photo shoot.

Gone were the comfortable black leather couches and wide-screen TV. Instead, at the innermost corner of the room, a small dressing box was set up, complete with velvet curtains and overhead lights. A long-standing mirror was placed opposite for the dresser to see the maximum impact the change had on him, on leaving the dressing box. And behind the door where there was a large space of emptiness, a photo shoot set was put up, complete with virtual background screen, virtual-reality projector and specially designed environment-inducing headlights. All courtesy of the doctors getting carried away by the idea of "treading on new ground".

Meanwhile, the boys looked most disgruntled. Standing in front of her in a row, in their bathrobes and shower caps. On hearing her question, Heero, Quatre, Trowa and Wufei took a step back simultaneously. Leaving only Duo standing in the front.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, looking annoyed. "This is so unfair."

". . . fair," Heero counter argued, folding his arms across his chest.

"You didn't get hair attachments, so it's only right you go first," Wufei further explained, supporting his Japanese friend. "Our hair still needs half an hour more to set before we can take off these stifling caps." And he gave his own shower cap the look, as if it would understand and become more complying.

"Well, make me," Duo retorted, trying to be stubborn.

click!

Heero had his gun out and aimed at Duo.

"Oh man, don't tell me you still have that around . . ." The American winced. Heero just waved his gun in the direction of the dressing room, his intention clear.

"Fine. Fine. I'm going," he relented, entering the dressing room and dragging his shopping bag of goods behind him. All the while trying to look most dismal.

"Cut the act," Wufei snapped, his feet impatiently tapping the floor. "You were the most enthusiastic one to get here, while we had to get our hair attachments done."

"You try seating on your butt for 8 hours straight, waiting and doing nothing except sit, and then try telling me that same sentence again," the boy retorted, pulling the drapes closed behind him and shutting the world off.

"I believe if you hadn't destroyed Sally's newest medicine mixer machine, your freedom wouldn't have been restricted to the chair with chains and ropes!" Wufei called back, projecting his voice over the curtains in hopes of drilling the facts into the thick head of the American. The only answer he received for his efforts was a loud snort.

Then there was silence, followed by the crinkling of plastic as Duo rummaged through his shopping bag. Then the crinkling sound stopped, followed by an even longer pause.

"What's this?" he shouted from his side of the curtain, once he found his voice.

"What's does it look like?" Jess called back, leaning closer to hear his answer.

"It's blue and white. And lots of cloth with some lace here and there . . ."

"Oh! That's the full-length blue cotton flock with slit ruffled sleeves and white lace trimmings and collar. You're looking at the skirt end." Jess quickly answered, her mind's eye looking at the dress hidden by the curtains. "Lovely, isn't it?"

"It has enough material to make a camping tent."

"Ha ha. Very funny," Jess sarcastically said, folding her arms across her chest. "Just wear the dress will you? The women assured me that it is very modern."

"I dread to think what kind of women you have been talking to."

Jess didn't bother to refute that statement, choosing instead to wait for Duo to come out. She was certain once he was out, he would see what an excellent choice she had made for him, dress-wise of course.

Then it was done. The butterfly was ready to emerge from his cocoon.

"I want drum rolls before I exit!" the boy on the other side of the drapes demanded, sounding extremely cheerful. "I want my grand change to be celebrated before I put one foot over this threshold!"

"Dong Dong-dong Chang!" Wufei half-heartedly humored the boy. An amazing feat considering he should be still fuming at the doctors and at himself, for taking on such a task.

"I meant the kind of circus drum rolls or British royalty drum rolls. Not Chinese drum rolls!" came the exasperated criticism from the other side. All eyes turned to Trowa. And Trowa glared back hard at them.

". . ."

"You're the only one," Wufei pointed out, giving him the expectant look.

"Please do it," Quatre pleaded with trembling lips and eyes sparkling with excitement.

Trowa shifted his eyes to the only companion who understood him best. Sighing, Heero pushed away from the wall he was leaning against and walked over to the curtains. Once in front of it, he plunged his hand through the drapes and pulled out the squealing, unwilling brunette.

"No fair, no fair, no fair!" the boy protested, struggling in the iron grip of his friend. "You played dirty again."

". . . fair," Trowa spoke up in a rare, voluntary moment, supporting his current one and only buddy.

"Enough," Jess got in the final say, stopping the argument from going any further. Heero dropped his hand from the shoulder of his friend and returned back to his earlier spot.

Tapping a finger on her lips, Jess surveyed the American boy from head to toe.

"Love the figure your body creates . . . and everything seems very proportionate as well," she mumbled as she circled him. Meanwhile, Duo seemed to preen under her praises. "but . . . "And Jess stopped circling the boy, coming to a full stop in front of him.

"But . . . ?" Quatre prompted, eagerly waiting for the conclusion that was the deciding factor. Like one, all the boys leaned slightly forward to catch her answer.

". . . Something's not quite right here." Jess finished, frowning, as she looked harder at the subject.

"Of course something is not right!" Wufei proclaimed, throwing his hands up into the air with exasperation. "**That** is a guy in female clothing!"

"Nonsense!" Jess huffed, reaching out to tuck and pull the dress into a better shape. "He looks good from neck down. It's the face that makes it weird. He still looks . . . male."

Duo felt bewildered. He had to look male. He was born a guy for heavens sake. How could clothes make him look female?

"Am I missing thing?" he asked, giving her the look. Last thing he wanted was to be told he looked female by just wearing female clothes.

"Yeah," came the prompt answer and the rest of the boys smiled.

"I didn't mean the physical aspects."

"Well, you should. It's giving me a problem." Jess snorted, catching hold of his face and turning it left and right to look at it from a different angle.

Duo opened his mouth to argue but his words stopped just before they left his lips. The girl's fingers were starting to trace his jaw and she lost her frowning look.

"Wha . . . what?" he managed out, trying his best not to go into shock at such a sudden treatment. The girl broke into a smile that captivated him.

"I understand now."

"You do?" his brain was suddenly working slower and he couldn't seem to breathe. Meanwhile, at the back of his mind, he realized the room had taken on a tense atmosphere and every single eye was watching the two of them seriously.

"Yes!" she answered, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm. Duo couldn't stop staring at this suddenly sweet-looking person in front of him. That is until she reached behind him to grab his pigtail and undo the band that held the braid in place.

"It's your jaw line. It's too broad and square," she further explained as his hair came apart in her hands in a series of waves. "They take away the demure look."

So much for romance. The girl didn't seem to have a clue about attraction.

Jess stepped back once she was certain everything was perfect. Just covering the jaw line had a superb effect on the boy. He looked . . . Jess couldn't bring herself to say the words in her mind. It was already disturbing as it was. Instead, she pointed at the mirror with a shaking hand.

With trepidation, Duo stepped up to the mirror to take his first look in female form. An unfamiliar person stared back at him. The person, unmistakably a girl with long wavy hair that framed her face, dressed in the pretty blue and white flock with a white slash tied around her slander waist, stared back at him with a curious look. And turning left and right to survey the lovely, slander form of the girl didn't make the image vanish at all. As the girl had described, everything about him looked . . . normal. A sweet, adorable and normal-looking girl, with vivid eyes of violet, that added character and a certain charm to it.

"Wow . . ." he breathed, turning around to view his back in the mirror. His behind added a great female advantage and he secretly smirked.

"You got that right," his Chinese friend agreed, folding his arms and looking at him with approval written all over his face. "You look better than . . ."

"Quatre's next!" Jess shouted, cutting off the boy from going further. The guys all grinned. No doubt she knew as well as they, the painful truth that she was unable to compete with one boy on those grounds.

Biting his lips with worry, Quatre entered the dressing box. Then he re-emerged with Duo's shopping bag, placing it on the ground at the side for the convenience of the American. The girl glared hard at him, the look in her eyes burning with a strange light. No doubt the residue from the near cutting insult she received earlier.

With a squeal, Quatre quickly re-entered the dressing box and got about his business.

"I want you to wear the white dress." Jess bit out after his retreating form. A silence followed and then the crinkling sound of plastic as Quatre pulled out the target dress from its bag. A longer pause as the blond took his time looking at it.

"J . . . Jess . . . ?" came the hesitant question.

"Yeah?"

"It is a gown."

"Yeah. Got a problem?" the last bit ended on a threatening note.

**Gulp!** "No."

"Good. Wear it."

Immediately, there was a rustling of clothing as the boy discarded his bathrobe and pulled on the gown. Then there was a silence again.

"Well?" The girl asked expectantly.

The boy stepped out of the dressing room, trying his best to not blush. Jess smiled. Quatre turned out even better than Duo. The white gown, made of white lace and satin, with its small balloon sleeves at the shoulders, cream lace peeking out from underneath the long sleeves at the wrist and v-neck opening, together with layers of cream ruffled petticoats layering out from underneath the gown's hem, had an astounding effect on Quatre. Of course, all he needed was accessories to complete the whole image Jess had plotted out for him in her mind.

Running into the dressing room, Jess grabbed the large shopping bag and started rummaging through it till she found what she was looking for.

"Here, put this on," She said, handling him the dainty white lace gloves and a thin gold necklace. And she snatched the shower cap off his head while he was putting on the gloves.

"Hey!" Quatre exclaimed, his hands going up to his head. But he was a mite too late. Blockage of blond hair came tumbling down, cascading down his back to end at his feet there. Spreading out to form a beautiful golden cloak, adding to the pure, innocent, princess-like image Jess was aiming for. Behind her, she could hear the sudden in-take of breaths from the boys and smiled with satisfaction. Dressed as a girl, Quatre gave new meaning to the word: beautiful.

"Well?" he asked, looking nervously around. All hands went up to point at the mirror.

With anticipation, Quatre stepped up to the mirror as Duo backed away to give him space. Taking one look at his face, Quatre did the thing most associated with Jess.

He collapsed to the floor in a dead faint.

"If I didn't know he was a guy, I'll be going for him," Duo whispered to Heero, who with the rest, had came to stand over Quatre for a closer look.

"Hn."

Meanwhile the boy on the ground started mumbling something. Jess bended closer to listen.

". . . I'm a . . . failure . . . as a guy . . . I'm . . . a girl . . . I'm . . .a . . . cross dresser . . . I'm . . ."

"What is he saying?" Duo curiously asked, squatting down to hear better.

"He needs time to adjust." Jess quickly answered, pulling him back up before he caught any one of the words.

"Ah . . ."

Then Trowa and Heero helped carry and lay Quatre against a wall, to prevent him from being trampled underfoot by accident. By the time they had put him down, Duo was back at the mirror, parading in front of it.

"Wufei's next." Jess monotonously listed, whipping out a list from a purse she carried at her side and ticking off the earlier two names.

"Me?" Wufei, in his surprise, squeaked out.

"Yes you. Any problem?"

"**Plenty.**" The boy expounded. "Let me start . . ."

"Take it to the dressing room," Jess interrupted, sounding a bit tired. The boy had a motor mouth when it came to this mission. Complaints just flowed from his lips like water from a canal.

"I object! You can't make me," the boy retorted, deciding to take a firm stance against her decision.

"Ok. Heero's next."

On hearing his name, Heero pulled out his gun again and leveled it at the boy.

"Chei! This is so unfair!" the Chinese boy bit out, dragging his own shopping bag behind him as he marched into the dressing room.

"Welcome to the club," Duo cheerily called out, not sounding the least bit sympathetic. Jess rolled her eyes. Talk about holding a grudge. The boy sure knew how to rub salt into an open wound.

"Injustice Maxwell, injustice! One of these days, you're going to regret making me mad. Mark my words! I . . ." Wufei tirade was cut off by Trowa marching up to the curtains and pulling them shut.

"Get on with it!" the redhead gritted out, getting straight to the point without hesitation.

"Humph!" And then there was the satisfying sound of compliance as the boy opened his bag to take out his outfit.

Five seconds later, he was out of the dressing room, outfit and all with an additional twitching eyebrow. Meanwhile, the boys around him were staring with mouths agape. Even Quatre, who had just opened his eyes in time to catch him in this new attire.

"Suits you, don't you think?" Jess smugly answered the unspoken question, feeling that this was the epitome of her skills.

"You want the answer to that, woman?" The boy asked in a quiet, threatening voice, his hands visibly clutched into fists and shaking terribly with anger at his side.

"Why? You don't like it?" Jess asked, putting on her most sweet, innocent face. She decided to let his general definition of her slide for the moment. "Look at the rest of the boys! They are simply just . . . just amazed by your transformation."

"Duo's drooling from the corner of his mouth, Trowa's face is going red, Heero's turning around and taking out Relena's photo, and Quatre's trying to stop the nose bleed that just started with his skirt . . ."

"Quatre!"

"Stop trying to change the subject!" Wufei screamed, loosing whatever little precious control he had over his emotions and grabbing hold of the girl by the front. Ignoring the grimace of pain that flashed across her face as he hauled her up from the floor to bring her face to his own face level. Vaguely, his mind registered the boys rushing to her rescue.

"I don't want to wear this silly, ridiculous getup, you hear me??!!" he managed to threaten her before Duo wrestled the girl away from his grip, while Heero locked his arms around his waist and pulled him away. Leaving Trowa and Quatre to stand in the middle to keep the two of them separate.

"Calm down, she's just doing her job," Quatre said, trying to pacify the agitated boy.

"Yeesh! Didn't your mom and dad ever teach you girls couldn't be man-handed?" Duo added in, reprimanding the boy for his unacceptable conduct. And he gently placed Jess on the ground, holding on to her until he was sure she could stand on her own.

"Hn." Heero, in his own typical way of saying, agreed with his friend. And Trowa gave a small shake of his head to show what he thought of his little thoughtless and reckless tantrum.

"Well, I wouldn't have lost it if the slits . . ." and he held out a leg to show how much could be seen, "doesn't start at my **hips** and that all of you hadn't been staring at my **chest!**" And he pointed at his chest, bring attention back to it again. Quatre covered his nose and tried hard to think of flowers and a serene field.

Heero let go of the Chinese boy and walked off, refusing to take the bait. Only Trowa and Duo looked nonchalant and unaffected.

"Looks fine to me," Duo gave his opinion in an annoyed voice and brought his hands up behind his neck to rest his head on them. "You ain't much of a looker if you ask me."

"Why you . . ."

". . . he's right . . ." Trowa agreed and nudged Quatre, who immediately started nodding his head furiously.

"Yeah. But look at _her_," Wufei shouted and pointed at Jess. "Are you telling me she is going to wear all these . . . these _attributes_?"

Duo opened his mouth to argue but he was stopped short by the girl suddenly holding out a hand in a universal sign of stop.

'_I'll handle it from here_,' was the look she gave them all and the three boys stepped away to allow her to confront the angry boy.

"Well?" Wufei demanded, refusing to back down. The girl didn't flinch under his intimidating glare. Instead, she walked up to him and looked him in the eye.

"I thought you will be more appreciative of this outfit," she began, her eyes unwavering, staring straight back at him. "This cheongsam had to be made from scratch to fit your measurements."

"The slits are up to my hips!"

"They are for your optimal movements!" The girl shouted back, refusing to back down.

"My chest!?!" he exclaimed, looking at the two foreign protruding hills with horror.

"They don't get in the way now, do they?" she hissed back, narrowing her eyes in frustration. "And no one is going to contest against the fact that you are a girl, with your chest that big."

"Yes they will!!"

"How so?!"

And Wufei pointed at his face. "Don't lie that I look like a girl."

"You don't, for now." And Jess grabbed the shower cap off his head. Luxurious black hair tumbled forth, thick and heavy to end at his shoulder blades. Then from a hidden pocket within her purse, she drew out a familiar object.

"Master O gave me this. Said it's an old relic of yours that you have forgotten," she said, placing the pair of rectangular spectacles on his nose gently. "I thought it might come in useful."

And once the spectacles were in place and she had curved the hair gently inwards, Jess stepped back with a satisfied smile.

"All you need now is a fringe and some layers . . . , but that can be arranged later," she mumbled out happily as she led him to the mirror. "Now look at yourself."

And Wufei got the first look of himself in female form. The bright red cheongsum, contrasted well against his fair skin and the embroidered gold dragon; its head resting on his left shoulder and its body curving around his, with it's tail ending alongside the top of the right slit. And the mass of black hair, gently curving inwards to frame his face indeed defined the gentle, willowy beauty his people were famous for. But he also saw something else.

"Well?" Jess asked, suddenly a little afraid he was going to protest against wearing this attire again. Without needing to say a word, everyone could see Wufei also had the X-factor and was very . . . shapely.

Instead of replying, Wufei turned and went back into the dressing room. Only to emerge again with his shopping bag tucked underneath his arm.

"Where are you going?" Jess called after him as he walked out the door. He paused in his step and then turned to look at her with a serious face.

"All I need is bangs and layers right?" he questioned and waited for her puzzled nod of agreement. Then he was gone.

"Wha . . ."

"It shows he agrees to the getup," Duo explained, coming up to ruffle her hair. "He's going to Sally to get his hair cut the way you want him to."

"Oh. Quatre!" Jess suddenly exclaimed, deciding on the spot, what to do. "Follow him and get your hair cut!"

"Shoulder length?" came the hopeful question, and two equally pleading and hopeful baby blue eyes.

"No." Jess replied, standing firm on her decision. "Only to the back of your knees."

"Aw . . ." the blond sighed with dismay, but he obediently exited the room, dragging his shopping goods behind him.

"Now that has been done with," Jess gleefully continued, checking off Wufei's name from the list. "Lets get on with the harder part. Heero!"

Turning to Trowa, Heero said the forbidden words for the very first time.

"Save me."

". . ."

"Get in there," Jess commanded, pushing the poor, unwilling and petrified boy into the dressing room. "Don't make me dress you."

And the drapes closed behind him, leaving the boy with little choice but to follow the same fate as his comrades before him.

Three hours later, a knock sounded on the control room door.

"Must be the girl," doctor J grunted to his colleagues, getting up from the armchair. It was common knowledge that due to the girl's backward and slow adaptation to machines, she went around treating things as if they didn't run on electricity at all. Things had to be fashioned just to suit her needs. Even the door to her room. Secretly fingerprinted too, just to keep some curious, lock-picker from trying something naughty as well.

Pushing a button, a whirling of machinery started and then the armchair slid into the wall; disappearing from sight completely as another wall, similar to the ones at the sides, dropped silently into place. Then pushing another button, a workbench, laden with mechanical parts and staff that looked complex but was really just old junk, rose out from the middle of the floor. Taking their places at the table, Doctor J pressed the last button and released the lock in the door. The door swung inwards to reveal the girl with a troubled look.

"What's wrong, child?" Doctor G asked, discarding the broken Potile on the workbench and coming forward. "Did they refuse to do what you said?"

He received a shake of the head.

"They bullied you?" his eyes started to search for signs of bruises or bleeding.

Another shake of the head.

"Then what is it?"

"Trowa . . ."

"He was nasty to you, is it? Well, just leave it to these three old men here."

"Watch who you're calling old," Doctor J sourly protested, throwing a disgruntled look into his friend's back.

Sighing, the girl put two fingers to her lips and blew a loud whistle in the direction of the door. In trooped the gang of pilots, according to the order that they were made to dress.

First entered Duo, looking very pretty, for Jess discovered he suited warm peachy tones of red and applied both blusher and lipstick to his face. The amazement and delighted approval on the doctors' faces said it all.

Next came in Quatre, with only the lightest brush of blusher in tones of pinkish-red, applied to his cheeks. Cheeks turned red as the doctors' eyes drank in the sight of this unprecedented beauty.

Then in came Wufei, with the referred bangs and layers, looking very irritated and gloomy. He stormed in like a herd of elephants. Making a lot of noise to express his displeasure. Not much good that did. The doctors' mouths all dropped opened and for Master O, he looked like he wanted to cry very much. Meanwhile, the other two were starting to drool from the corners of their mouth.

"Not a word to anyone!" his young charge hissed to him, as he passed the doctors to take his place beside Duo.

"But . . . but . . ."

"Shush!" And that was the end of their conversation.

Then it was Heero's turn to make his grand entrance. The doctors were stunned on seeing him walk calmly into the room. No makeup. No dress. No nothing that would even make him look the least bit feminine. That is if one did not count the ridiculous large white bow with red polka dots tied on top of his head in a sad deliberate attempt to convince the looker that here was a girl. Unable to resist the question in his head, Doctor J reached out and tapped Jess on the shoulder.

"Um . . . that is . . ."

"Heero," Jess completed the sentence for him, looking unperturbed over this strange and unremarkable change in appearance.

"I can see that! But . . . he looks like . . . Heero."

"Would you rather he look like a drag queen?" the girl had all but shot the question back at him with a rather annoyed look.

"Of course not!' The good doctor exclaimed, looking extremely horrified. "But couldn't you do something . . . _better?_"

"Trust me, this was the best I could do. The rest all . . . lets just say it was a disaster." And he watched as the girl shivered on recalling all the outfits and makeup she made Heero try on.

"So you expect him to go to school like **_this_**?!?!" Doctor J all but shrieked, throwing both hands up into the air in horror. "It's be as good as serving him on a silver platter!"

But his horror didn't seem to penetrate the girl's calm attitude barrier one bit at all. Instead, she started to regard him with calm and wise eyes. Taking her time before answering, as if she was speaking to an ignorant child and was contemplating on how best to explain the situation to that child.

"I've been to a girl's school. In fact, the school had exactly the same type of situation that this school faces, like a boys' school just next door. Trust me. There will be girls with perverse preferences to the same sex rather than to the opposite. And those on the receiving end tend to like looking as Heero looks. A pretty yet good-looking young boy." She whispered her last two explanations on seeing the doctors' alarmed faces. But even after her long elaboration, the alarm did not ease off their faces.

"You want . . . **My Boy** to attract innocent young women?"

"If you don't want that, put him in the boys' school then," the girl huffed, folding her arms and turning her back on them. Doctor J's head dropped in defeat. He knew when he was beaten. A new plan was need here. Almost immediately. His mind started thinking of all the possible solutions to the problem at hand. This was because, unlike Jess, Doctor J and his colleagues had heard the rumors. And for Heero to look like that, the dice did not roll in his favor.

"Ok, no need to sulk," Doctor G quickly intervened, giving his friend a sly wink. "You said Trowa is a problem."

"More like has," she corrected and clapped both hands twice. A shadow appeared in the doorway and then the figure moved forward to stand in the light. The doctors were struck dumbfound by the vision in front of their eyes.

"Aack!" was all Doctor G could manage out before his vocals closed in on him again. Master O all but went white in the face while Doctor J cupped both hands over his eye goggles and refused to look further.

"Like a real drag queen, huh?" the girl tonelessly listed, looking a bit disappointed.

'_More like what the cat dragged in!'_ Doctor G mind's screamed as his eyes took in the horrible sight. Despite the long, luxurious red hair that fell to the boy's slim waist, the long vest over an ample bosom, the beautiful white collared shirt tucked neatly into a long dark blue skirt, and makeup that probably came from all the best brands the girl could lay her hands on, Trowa still did not look feminine.

His features, no doubt fine, conveyed to all as a boy, handsome and aloof, a teenager on the verge of manhood. As a woman, it cried out from afar that here was a fraud, a faker of the opposite gender, for Trowa's features ate makeup when it was applied lightly, and made him look cheap when applied thickly, highlighting too well what should not be there and covering what should be there.

And his famously tall height was not helping in this matter. All the doctors were immediately forced to come to the conclusion that Trowa would most certain blow the whole show for them if permitted to join the group for the mission.

"How much time do we have to take his submission out of the school without endangering the rest?" Doctor J urgently whispered out of the corner of his mouth to the rest of his partners.

"Three minutes starting from now," Doctor G answered and rushed to the computer to pull out the entry before the principal started the usual afternoon check up on who would be given permit to enter the school.

Meanwhile, it was obvious Master O couldn't take his eyes off Wufei. It kept sliding back to look at his young charge until the young boy could not take it anymore and went stomping out of the room in a furious rage.

And for Trowa, seeing everyone's attention being diverted by the hot-blooded co-pilot, took the opportunity to swipe the box of tissue off the workbench. In a second the makeup was removed, leaving behind a young man dressed in woman's clothing. But he could have spared himself the effort. Everyone was equally relieved that his makeup was gone and he was back to his normal good-looking self.

"Photos?" Doctor J questioned on seeing that everything was going back to normal. Jess slapped an A4 sized brown envelope into his outstretched hands.

"They're . . . I mean we'er suppose to be from rich families, right?" She asked, her eyes searching his face for confirmation. The doctor nodded and extracted the photos to take his first look at them.

For Heero and Duo, being "sisters", the girl had apparently selected the park setting for them. Heero and Duo were photographed sitting under a blossoming rainforest tree on a beautiful bench curved from wood and metal, behind a pond where two graceful swans were floating, stretching out their wings, as if to take flight from there. Gentle hills and wildflowers graced the background while blue sky and flurry white clouds reigned in the backdrop, setting off a very peaceful and sceneric picture. The only thing that really ruined such a good picture, which Doctor J noted with much displeasure, was the ridiculous bow, tied to his young charge's head. It stuck out like a sore thumb.

However the picture was taken and there wasn't much Doctor J could do but trust the young girl's judgment that this was the best course of action. With some secret backup needing to be provided, of course.

Quatre picture was next. It seemed to prove the girl really had good taste. Quatre was given the glasshouse garden setting with a flowering gazebo. He was taken sitting slightly sideways, on a bench made of curved marble, within the gazebo, amidst flowers of the many colors and types, their stems and leaves gracefully and artfully twining around the beautiful white pillars of the gazebo, peeking out from amongst the flowers blooming there. His hair was gently pulled to one side to spill over one shoulder, spreading artfully in a rich blanket of gold over his slander form and the chair. And in his hands, he held a rose, brought up close to his chin as if he was caught in the act of smelling it. Bushes, different ferns and flowering plants surrounded the gazebo and the light of the evening sun was made to shine down gently on him in a single path, like a spotlight, giving him a surreal and yet dreamlike halo effect. Doctor J's breath caught in his throat as he surveyed this unrealistic yet beautiful picture.

"I didn't put Trowa in because I wasn't sure if it was such a good idea. I didn't want to spoil the picture," she whispered her last explanation in an apologetic way, looking at the ground miserably. Smiling to show his appreciation for her effort, Doctor J reached out and gave her an affectionate pat on the head before going on to the last photo.

The last picture was Wufei and Jess. It was apparent that the girl chose a rather more Chinese setting for the picture to be taken. Graceful willow trees donned both sides of the picture, lining along a dirt path, their leaves gently swaying in an unseen breeze. In the background, a white three-storied house occupied the center, peeking out from behind the willow trees, while blue sky acted as the backdrop of the whole picture. Both Wufei and the girl stood in the center on the well-trodden dirt path, amidst falling leaves from the willow trees. Standing back to back with each other, one frowning hard while the other smiled gently.

Both people wore cheongsums in the picture, only that Wufei's cheongsum drew more attention, being bright red unlike his "sister", who wore a gentle green with a blue phoenix embroidered on it.

Doctor J gave a discreet cough behind his hand; feeling terribly embarrassed at the sudden suspicion that Jess might be a boy herself. For not only was Wufei's cheongsum more eye catching, it also emphasized certain assets that the _real_ girl sadly lack in comparison.

"Very good work there," he said, once sure he had stopped blushing. Putting the pictures carefully in the envelope, he realized that the girl was extremely silent, regarding him with utter seriousness.

"Yes?" he prompted and waited for her answer.

"The boys . . . They still sound like themselves. Their voices give them away even if their faces do not." And she looked at him hopefully for the solution to her problem. Her words made him remember what he forgot to give her at the start.

Quickly, he took out from his pocket a small, black pallet that looked a lot like a flatten black pea, only with fine mesh wire running across it's center.

"See this?" he questioned, holding the pallet out in front of her face. He waited for her nod before continuing. "I need you to get them to place this thing as far back on their tongue as they can, mesh wire surface down of course, and then bring their tongues as far back as they can before swallowing."

Then taking her hand, he pulled out three more pallets and dropped all four pallets in her palm.

"What good will that do?" came the inevitable question to those queer instructions.

"The pallets will activate their systems lock on the back of the throat and attach themselves to the soft muscles there. They are tiny voice scramblers, designed to change the tone of their voices from male to female," he further explained on seeing her perplexed look.

"But how are they to revert back to their normal speaking voice?"

"Not to worry," Doctor J smiled and pointed a finger in the general direction of the clinic. "Sally should be able to handle a few small operations."


	49. Voice scramblers

_AN: This is a cute insert. Hope you guys will enjoy it!_

_But first, to my wonderful and faithful reviewers, I like to thank: Magical WiseSkill, ShadowStar21, Raizard333, Shini no Tenshi, Bunny, Moon Fighter and haguregumo! Thanks very much for sticking around me for sooooooo long. (Smiles real big)_

_And two newcomers! I like to welcome: Athene Saile and Sozoku! Just to let you know, I'm a bit of a slow updater. But I rather regular, I believe. Just check my fic once every two or three weeks. I usually update around that time. : Hope you will enjoy future fic's chapters to come._

On with the fic!

Chapter 48 – subfic 

"I'm going to take off this stifling costume," Duo announced the moment they stepped out the doorway of the control room.

"Save it," Jess intoned, looking at the list she was holding in her hand. "I need you guys back at the dressing room again for another briefing. I totally forgot to give you one last essential equipment."

"What?! There's more?" Duo exclaimed in his surprise.

"Yeah. Could you be so kind as to get Wufei, Heero?" Jess requested the Japanese boy without looking up from her list.

"Hn." And he was gone on his new mission.

". . ."

"Oh, you can change back, Trowa. No need for you to be in that dress any longer."

". . . Waste . . ."

"Quatre?"

"He means that it will be such a pity to see all the clothes you bought go to waste like that, now that he will not be needing them anymore," Quatre explained with a resigned sigh. Sometimes, he wondered why the others found it so hard to understand Trowa when all was needed was a little common sense and perhaps some thinking.

But the girl flipped over the page, looking nonplussed.

"Don't worry," the girl quipped, her eyes scanning the next page of the list. " You guys can spilt the clothes between yourselves. And for the bras, Wufei can have them all since they are the same size as his."

"I reserve the white silk blouse and red side-silt cotton skirt!" Duo quickly whispered his demands to the blond.

"I'll take the black cotton pants and T-shirts," came the quick response to his reservations.

"Why?"

"Have you seen my clothes? They are all dresses and gowns!"

"Cool! Swap you that silver glittery gown for my green summer dress?"

"If you lend me the matching shoes to go with it."

". . ."

"Ahem!" Jess gave out a loud cough, deciding that the conversation had gone far enough. It was bad enough the girls in her world did that in front of her all the time, especially the gorillas' fan club. All of it aimed to make her feel inadequate, of course. But these were boys!

"I like the purple gemstone butterfly clip. Care to trade?" Duo whispered out of the corner of his mouth, in his last ditch effort to get things done before they had to disband to pack for the trip.

"No!" The blond cried out in dismay. "I like that clip!"

Jess slapped a hand to her face as they came a stop in front of the elevator. This was like dealing with young girls at their first dress up party!

"I can Still. Hear. You," she gritted out slowly, making sure she emphasized each word clearly.

"Okay, okay . . ." the American relented, putting up his hands in a show of surrender. "So when are we getting those shimmery things that I see some females put on their eyelids?"

Jess sighed and gave up.

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Finally, after an hour, all the boys were assembled in front of her, wearing their usual attire and looking more relaxed and comfortable.

"So what's so important?" Wufei asked, breaking the silence first.

"Ok, I need all of you, excluding Trowa, to put these things at the furthest end of your tongues and swallow," she instructed, placing the tiny voice scrambler devices in the palm of each designated boy's hand. "Mesh wire side face down, please."

"Wha Hey Ho?" (What they do?) Duo asked with his mouth opened, his hands placing the device, as told, on his tongue.

"Make you sound more feminine," Jess replied, deciding not to go into details yet.

"Swallow please," she requested, once sure everyone had done as instructed.

And they did as they were told.

Nothing prepared the boys for the excruciating pain that came next. Unknown to them, as they swallowed, the devices unfurled three sharp, cone-shaped, jointed legs and dug themselves deep into the soft and unsuspecting muscles at the back of their throats, pinning the device there firmly.

Eyes bulged and hands went to grip the sore throats as each boy slowly sank to his knees on the floor. Even Heero was forced to kneel on one knee, trying his best to adjust to this sudden and unexpected pain. The only one left standing was Trowa, who by some turn of luck, managed to avoid such a fate.

"Ac . . . . . .k . . ." was all Wufei could wheeze out as the pain shot right through his brain. Meanwhile, Quatre went white in the face and dropped to his knees in a near faint. Duo looked like he was caught between coughing and vomiting, gripping his throat with both hands as his body heaved in automatic defense to get rid of the foreign body that was causing him so much pain.

And as each boy kneeled hacking and coughing, small droplets of blood started dripping out of the opened mouths. Splashing themselves onto the clean metal floor and alarming the girl.

"My goodness!" she whispered, clasping her two hands over her mouth. It seemed Doctor J failed to explain the other undesirable consequence of swallowing the device. Reacting fast to his friends' predicament, Trowa had his gun out and aimed at Jess.

"What did you just feed them?" he demanded in a soft voice, his eyes staring unnervingly at her with a steel quality behind them. Jess swallowed thickly and decided it was time to talk.

"Doctor J told me they were tiny voice scramblers. They would help the boys sound like females!" In her confusion and worry, Jess babbled out the explanations, her words tripping all over themselves. "He said they would attach themselves to the back of the throat but I didn't know it would come to this!"

Surprisingly, it was Heero who came to the girl rescue by grabbing hold of the gun's opening and pulling it down. Averting danger from the girl to the floor.

"J," Heero spoke in a much softer, gentler tone. Eyes popped wide opened and looked at him in disbelieve.

Then Duo decided he would like to try his new voice as well. "Hello? I'm Dorine. I'm a 15 year-old girl who likes the colors blue and purple, and my favorite past time is painting," he quoted the lines of the script, relishing the sound of his new voice

"Hey, I can get use to this!" he squealed and than broke into a wide grin. "No one is gonna know it is us!"

"It is . . . simply . . . wonderful," Quatre praised, sounding a bit uncertain on hearing his voice sounding like a much softer, feminine version of his own.

"Wonderful, my foot! Great! Now I sound like a weak woman too!" Wufei complained, looking terribly disgruntled. Slowly, the boys got to their feet. Duo looking extremely pleased with the outcome, Wufei looking extremely unsatisfied and Quatre looking extremely anxious. Only Heero looked neutral, as if his expression was carved in stone.

On seeing that his friends were recovering from the side effects of the device, Trowa calmly sheathed his gun; sliding it under his vest.

"So how do we switch off these things?" Wufei grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest once again. "What's the magic word for it?"

With surprise, they watched as the girl made straight for the door. Then she was out of sight, through the doorway. The door sliding silently closed behind her.

"Wha . . ." Wufei stuttered, caught off guard by this unexpected reaction.

"Perhaps she went to get the password from the doctors on how to switch these devices on and off," Duo offered an explanation. And on catching sight of his reflection whilst talking, he added in a softer voice: "I hope . . ."

Just seeing his normal boy image talking while the words uttered was that of a young girl, was pretty unnerving.

Fifteen minutes went by without any sign of the girl appearing.

"You think she got lost?" Quatre suggested, a look of doubt crossing his face. He started fingering his long hair unconsciously. Wounding it round his fingers in an absent-minded way.

"Perhaps," Heero agreed, pushing away from the wall where he was leaning against, while waiting for the girl's reappearance.

Together as a group, they marched to the door, pausing only for the door to open fully for all of them to exit the room as one.

In front of them, on the opposite wall, a piece of paper was stuck. Held in place by a piece of gum.

Moving forwards, Heero squinted at the tiny words, deliberately written in such a manner, on the paper. The rest crowded around; all eagerly waiting to hear him read aloud the written words.

"The Doctors said . . . to get re . . . rid of them . . . , you need . . . Sah . . . Sally to . . . re . . . remove them. There ain't . . . any . . . on and off switch!" Heero finished reading the tiny sentences with jubilant delight. Then his delight melted as the meaning of what he had just read, sunk in. Meanwhile, the others were terribly silent around him, each deep in thought as to what to do next.

"I don't know about you. But my hands are itching," Duo spoke up, always being the first to find his voice. Sadly, the voice scrambler made his voice sound too sweet and sugary to put across the menacing meaning behind the words uttered.

"Hn." Short and sweet, music to the ears of the listeners around.

"I need to get my sword." Typical Wufei attitude.

"I'll be glad to assist," Quatre pitched in, smiling as beautifully as he sounded. A shiver ran through the group. He just brought deception to another level.

Trowa shrugged his shoulders in reply. He didn't mind joining them even if he was unaffected. Besides, it might just drive home a point to the doctors he would appreciate to go to his missions as manly as possible.

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"**Arhoo!"** All three doctors sneezed at the same time.

"What a coincidence," Doctor J stated, rubbing his nose to ease the itch. "I think the room's dirty. When was the last time we maintained it?"

"I think last week," Doctor G replied, taking out a hankie to blow his nose.

"What's wrong, O?" Doctor J asked, noticing the worrisome look on his colleague's face.

"No . . . Nothing."

"Right . . . If you call that mad twitching of your left eyebrow normal."

"Spit it out, O! What's wrong?" Doctor G demanded, supporting his colleague to get to the bottom of his friend's sudden queer attitude.

"I . . . I'm getting a bad feeling," the Master finally admitted, getting out of his chair and pacing. "You know . . . that _ole sinking feeling_."

"No way . . . O . . ." Doctor J stammered, looking at him in horror.

"What? You're feeling it too?"

"Oh no, old pal . . ." Doctor G replied, taking him gently yet firmly by the shoulders, and guiding him to the door. "Only you."

"Excuse me?"

"It's obvious, O. You're falling sick. I suggest you go to your room and take a rest."

And the door slid close in Master O's face.

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Three hours later, the doctors had a **really **different opinion on Master O's gut feeling.

"Next time," Doctor G muttered to J as he hang upside down, suspended in mid-air from the ceiling, "Next time when O gets that "_Ole Sinking Feeling_", I say we go on vacation!"

In reply, his buddy nodded his head. All the while trying to look dignified as he stood precariously on a stack of chairs, out of reach from a small minefield of bombs set up around him.

"How long will it take for you to get out and set me free?" he asked his friend hopefully.

"An hour more, I think."

"Ah . . ." And Doctor G lapsed into silence, feeling very single drop of blood rush into his head while wondering what ever did he do to deserve this.


	50. St Hilary

AN: I'm here and ready to go. Hope you will enjoy the adventures to come.

Chapter 50 

On the day they were to enter into Saint Hilary's school, Doctor J bundled all of them into a miniature shutter together with their bundles of belongings, Quatre's the most since he was to be from the richest family. And a rather small congregation sent them off, comprising only of Doctor J, Doctor G, Master O and Sally.

The sending off ceremony was a rather pitiful one since Doctor G and Master O were still trying to finish the fake data information on each of them before their shutter reached planet L1, and Sally was actually busy with something yet to be finished in her clinic before she could set off for Tulman's hospital also set on L1. So all in all, the only one who gave a proper farewell salute was Doctor J, since he picked the shortest straw between the three Scientists, thus the one who would be the least burdened to send them off. The rest just opted to run into the base, rise up one hand and then run out before anyone could register his or her presence.

Wufei lay back against the soft padding of his seat and started sulking, crossing his arms across his chest before remembering he shouldn't since it made his fake breasts look all the more bigger.

"Why do we have to wear this ridiculous getup now?!!" he asked crossly, quickly uncrossing his hands before Duo noticed. He would never hear the end of it if he did. Lucky for him, Duo was admiring himself in a small handheld mirror, petting his brown locks into place while flattering his long eyelashes.

A shiver traveled down Wufei's spine. He was beginning to think the boy wasn't straight.

Meanwhile, Trowa and Heero were upfront, fiddling with the controls, gearing the shuttle into start off mode before setting their destination into the shuttle's computer. So the only person who heard and answered his question was Quatre. The girl, on the other hand, looked miserable. Choosing instead to look out the window into space.

"Because there's no toilet here on board," the blond calmly answered, flipping a page of his magazine. The magazine headline was: "The Woman in U".

"Besides," he continued, his eyes scanning the page, "we have a lady with us. It'll be . . . impolite to change in front of her."

"Fei!" Wufei snorted, sinking lower into his seat and crossing his legs. Thank goodness his cheongsum at least allowed him that kind of luxury.

"The day I call her a lady is the day I must have lost all my nuts," he mumbled to himself, choosing also to look angrily outside the window, wishing he was anywhere else but here.

Meanwhile, the engine purred to life and the shuttle took off, shooting towards its destination.

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Principal Witherby had years of experience in dealing with spoilt rich sooty girls with all kinds of misbehaviors. But all those years of experience went down the drain when she finally met up with the girls from three supposedly, VERY wealthy family backgrounds and upbringing.

In front of her, all she could see was five misfits. Well, actually a few really predictable misfits and perhaps a lady here and there, if she looked really hard enough.

The first was definitely not a girl. Principal Witherby was pretty sure of it. In fact, the red polka dot ribbon tied around the person's head was a rather poor attempt in disguising what was definitely a guy in green singlet and black shorts.

The second had a rather masculine aura around her despite the long brown locks that reached down to her butt and the pleasant face. Sweet. That'll be what Principal Witherby would call it but definitely not wholly feminine. A shiver went down her spine the longer she looked at this girl with her unique violet eyes. Sweet and strangely pretty, yes. But also a feeling of hidden danger.

The fourth was a sulky little Chinese girl who didn't look at all happy with where she was. In fact, if it wasn't for the large chest and shapely form the cheongsum gave her, Principal Witherby would have easily mistaken her for a guy. It was the determined jaw line that gave this girl a rather . . . handsome look than an ordinary girl's look. And sadly, the other Chinese girl standing beside her, obviously her sister, looked rather plain in comparison, not to mention the figure was lacking whereas her sister was not. Principal Witherby shook her head sadly. The gene pool had an amazing way of favoring one sibling over the other.

Only the third girl was a perfect specimen of a child that only wealthy people should have. Principal Witherby allowed herself a small smile. The young girl's lovely face, coupled with her long flowing blond hair and cornflower blue eyes was a perfect picture of delicacy only found in those rich and famous families. However, even this perfect specimen had a flaw. In fact, her flaw was also the flaw of the other four girls.

Principal Witherby lost her smile and frowned.

All five girls were covered in mud. And they came in tracking mud over her newly polished marble floor. Principal Witherby sighed inwardly. She would have to pay extra to the polishers to get the mud off her floor before the new teacher came in that afternoon.

"Can you tell me why you're so late?" she asked and was pleasantly surprised when the mousy plain Chinese girl spoke: "Please madam, our shuttle miscalculated and landed two kilometers off track from the school."

Nodding her head understandably, even though it was still a puzzle to her how the girls got so muddy all over, she resumed her seat behind her desk.

"I guess tracking through the forest must be a painstaking task," she commented and switched on her computer screen.

"Now, tell me who you are." she addressed the first, turning her attention to the computer located on the right side of her desk.

"Helen, Identity Code 2891" came the abrupt reply. Principal Witherby frowned. This girl was obviously a boy with her lack of mannerism. Never mind the softer quality of voice unlike the harsh deep tones of a male but at this age, Principal Witherby had heard of cases where some boys' voices did not break till the age of 21.

With a few expert clicks of her mouse, she accessed the database and located Helen's particulars.

"You are Helen Raceland, am I correct?" she asked, disbelief clear on her face. The family wealth amounted to twenty-five million dollars worth in asset and stock trade alone. The family also owned a small luxury space cruiser worth about 2 million dollars.

"Yes."

"Hmm . . ." Principal Witherby was having doubts. The photograph of the girl was uncannily the same. Even right down to the red polka dot ribbon, green singlet and black shorts. Principal Witherby had experiences of boys trying to get into her school as girls. And some of those perverts were living right across the schoolyard, learning and residing in their brother school Saint Edwin. Principal Witherby could feel her blood start to boil.

'_Only one solution for this!'_ she thought, her hand pulling out a drawer underneath her desk and extracting out a white form.

"Here," she said, giving Heero a sickly sweet smile, "I need you to bring that to the clinic next door. The doctor should be with you in five minutes. I heard her journey was a bit delayed."

Heero took the form silently but his expression was stony.

"What is this for?" he asked, eyeing the form suspiciously.

"Why, they are checks that the doctor has to go through. They are to check you're healthy by a blood test and physical check."

"Phy . . . physical check?" Heero stuttered, feeling his knees go weak at the same time.

"Of course," Principal Witherby answered calmly. "You can't expect me not to check the gender of our students. This is an all girls' school! I have the dignity and innocence of my students to protect. We've had quite a few cases of such things happening. In fact, all of you have to be inspected."

Then with a small gesture of the hand, she pointed out the door that led to the clinic.

"Now if you please hurry, I have better things to do than talk to you all day," she said, bringing the conversation to an end.

Jess watched as Heero heaved his mud-splattered luggage in one hand, clutching the form in the other and walking through the god-forbidden door, pausing only to shoot a death-glare at Principal Witherby before closing the door firmly behind him.

"Oh man, we're done for," she heard Duo whisper to Quatre and prayed hard for a miracle.


	51. Doccom

AN: Finally, I'm free to write this chapter without any guilty, time constraints and whatever this world can throw at me! This is simply wonderful! Pure freedom! :

Sorry about last week "no dedication". I was simply too busy to do anything except just write and post it up on the net. Sigh . . . That week was definitely the worst time I had in my life. School, homework, outings, etc . . .

Ok, enough of rambling, I like to thank my faithful, lovable reviewers: Raizard333, Shini no Tenshi, Bunny, Athene Saile, Moon Fighter and Magicia Wiseskill. Chapter after chapter, you guys have preserved to review. So thank you so much! Same goes to all the regular reviewers of the previous chapter: Ybewd, Kuria and haguregumo! Ha ha . . . makes me very happy to learn you all enjoy what I write. It's my source of encouragement.

And also those new to the reviews: Welcome ashblackraven and Chikara-Yuy! Hope you will enjoy the chapters forthcoming. A word of caution: I usually update only every two to three weeks. But rest assured, I am a regular updater, unless I have some pressing things that makes me delay for up to a month. :

On with fic!

Chapter 51 

Principal Witherby then turned her attention to the next victim: the sister of Helen.

Her sharp eyes seized up the brunette from head to toe, taking in every little detail in an effort to discern wither the girl would be proper or not.

Sure, her unique purple eyes made her more outstanding than normal, but there was something strangely dangerous and mischievous about the girl, which Principal Witherby couldn't quite place a finger on. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, the principal would have easily dismissed her promptly from her mind, should they pass in the halls.

"Dorine Raceland?" she enquired gently, yet firmly. Her eyes caught the hint of a strong jaw line underneath the flowing locks as the girl moved forward. Principal Witherby frown deepened at that.

"Yes , Madam," came the sweet reply and an equally sweet smile that could charm any guy. Unfortunately and unknowingly for Duo, his adversary was a woman with years of experience behind her.

Without a word, the principal held out the white form to him. Sighing, Duo took it and exited the room obediently, luggage trailing dismally behind him.

Then came Quatre's turn, much to the pleasure of Principal Witherby. And she let her guard slip by offering the petite blond a smile. Only realizing what she had done when the remaining girls ogled at her unexpected show of favoritism.

Quickly clearing her throat and clinking her mouse faster than she had ever done in her whole life, she found the blond girl's information in record time.

"Quarisa Lauther, I presume?" she gently asked, her eyes scanning the page quickly. If anything, she was hardly surprised to find the girl's inheritance amounting to 125 million dollars worth on stock trade alone. Property was about 3 billion dollars altogether, scattered among the various planets. And that alone, was enough to make her mouth go dry.

When she received no answer from the participant, Principal Witherby hurriedly disengaged her eyes from the computer screen to look up. Only to find shy, cornflower-blue eyes meeting hers for a brief second, before the girl dropped her attention to the floor with a shy nod.

Principal Witherby licked her lips and tried hard not to howl with delight at the amount of wealth she could harvest from this gentile creature. Special programs and privileges would have to be created (of course), just for her if she was to milk this lovely creature for all she was worth.

With a triumphant smile and an even quicker reaction, she had the white form held out to her. Unable to keep her eyes from sliding back to the computer screen to gaze at the data of wealth displayed there.

Finally, there were only two people of the original five, left in the room. The principal breathed a sigh of relief and motioned the two girls forward with her left hand, while her right hand's fingers searched for the information on the two sisters.

"Who is Wuling Lee?" She called out and waited for a response. Wufei raised his hand.

"And Weiling?" Jess raised her hand; taking her cue from Wufei least they roused suspicion.

Meanwhile, Wufei resisted the urge to turn his head and stare at Jess.

'_Weiling?' _his mind asked, the question rolling around his head. _'Since when was she a "Weiling"?'_

But the lady at the desk did not seem overly perturb by the differences in their looks or names. In fact, she scratched her chin thoughtfully, her eyes assessing the data on the computer.

'_Calculating,' _Wufei concluded, as he did his own assessment of her. _'And shrewd.'_

As if sensing his less than pleasant thoughts of her, the principal looked up into his eyes. Wufei quickly adverted them to the floor, in an effort to look more demure. A long, uncomfortable silence followed as the lady took her time seizing him up from bottom to top.

Unexpectedly, help came from the person at his side. Jess, sensing something was amiss, quickly cut in just as the principal opened her mouth to say something.

"May we have our forms now? My sister and I are suffering from Jet-lag and we would really like to get everything over and done with as soon as possible." Innocently and sweetly asked, with as much dignity as she could master.

Principal Witherby blinked, surprised by this sudden and bold explanation. Especially when the timid-looking one was the one giving it.

But loosing her train of thought left the principal with nothing else to do but to concede to the girl's request.

"Through that door, please?" she directed as she handed them their forms, and she watched the two girls disappear through it.

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Once in the room, they found the rest of the boys lined up against the wall, grim looks on all their faces.

"What? The doctor has already checked you?" Wufei demanded, moving in front and leaving Jess to take his luggage as well as hers. Naturally, he missed the furious glare she shot into his back.

"Nah, she's not here yet," Duo sulky replied, his eyes trained on the curtain partition that separated them from the rest of the room.

"What's wrong with him?" Jess quickly asked, noticing the blond beside the brunette looking a little disheartened as well, winding a lock of hair round and round his finger. Now it was her turn to ignore the glare Wufei shot down at her.

"Him?" And Duo gave a short laugh. "He was so sure his acting was so superb that he could get out of the examination himself. Looks like the lady isn't easy to bluff."

"That's bad."

"Hn."

"Big question," Jess sudden perked up, raising her hand.

"What?"

"What are you guys going to do now?"

"What do you mean by "you"?" Wufei irritably asked, plonking down on the floor. "You mean "**we**"?"

"No. It's you. You and them have a problem. Not me."

"Will you **quit **making it sound like we are not normal?!!" the boy blasted, jumping to his feet and staring her down again.

"But you are not normal!"

"You!"

"SHUT UP!" Heero finally gave in to temptation and opened his mouth. "Hearing the two of you arguing is making me feel worse. And none of it is helping the situation in any way."

"We need a plan. Fast," Duo agreed, sitting himself down on the floor gingerly so as not to crumble the skirt badly. The rest, taking their cue from him, seated themselves in a circle.

Heero was the first to hit upon an idea and he enthusiastically put forth: "Hn. Easy." His hand went under his singlet to bring out his gun. "We shoot the doctor, hide the carcass, forged the handwriting and signature, then tonight, when everyone is asleep, we go bury the body in the fore . . ."

**Twack!**

A slim, beaded slipper flew into his face, cutting off his sentence. Everyone turned and frowned at the culprit. Meanwhile, Jess tried to hold the raging temper within her.

Slowly, the slipper slid down and landed on the floor with a solid "_whack"._ Revealing a stone-faced boy with the outline of the slipper in red print.

"Um . . . Jess?" Quatre hesitantly probed, half afraid he would be the next victim if he said more.

"This is only the first day of school and you're already talking about **murder** Which part of **_blending in, _**do you not understand?"

"This ain't murder. It's part of removing **_obstacles_**." Came the arrogant reply.

"Then remove it by some other means."

"Or you'll do what?" Wufei mocked, feeling rather smug.

Grabbing her luggage, Jess zipped open the top and pulled out a small penknife. Then letting each of them have a good eyeful of the object, she answered: "Or we'll follow my method. Castration."

On seeing the shiny surface of the penknife, the sweet smile that accompanied the answer on the girl's face, none of the people doubted her abilities then. Involuntary, each boy moved back, each trying his best to move as inconspicuous as possible.

"Ok, Heeeeeelen," Duo caught himself at the last minute, "has a bad idea. Quatre?"

The blond gave him a most remorse look and shook his head.

"I haven't given it much thought except we could cut my hair, use it as rope and send him gift wrap to Doctor J for brain washing?" there was element of hopefulness that made Jess irritated.

"Rejected!" she announced, turning her head and giving him a rather evil look. Ignoring the freaked face he showed when he saw her tighten her grip on the penknife.

Then Duo pulled out a small black box, the size of a baseball, with two metal rods protruding from it.

"I wasn't really gonna bring this out as it hasn't been tested yet. But since this might be the last resort . . ."

"What does that do?" Jess asked immediately, eyeing the object suspiciously. With Duo, anything innocent looking was always suspiciously dangerous.

"It's an electric stun gun. It's made in the year 2000 and should hardly do much than shocked people into temporary paralysis. Problem is that I've been trying to trig up its power without much waste of batteries and the last test subject is in a coma."

**Twack!**

The other slim, beaded slipper flew into Duo face with astounding accuracy. On seeing this for the second time, Quatre pulled his luggage close, for the last object the girl could hurl was definitely dangerous.

"Put that away! Now!" the girl commanded, never taking her eyes off him till the device was safely pocketed.

"Why? What's wrong with this? At least the person will still be alive."

"You know what we call coma in our world?" Jess shot back, letting go of her simmering frustrations at the boys' inability to comprehend what was morally wrong and abnormally ruthless in dealing with obstacles. "It's called the living death. And there have been cases in my world where people would rather have their life support pulled out than go on living this kind of half life."

"So what do we do?" Quatre asked, lapsing back into gloom.

"Good question. How are you all going to finish me off?" A familiar female voice asked from behind the partition.

The curtain flew back and revealed Sally, in doctor's uniform and a clipboard in one hand.

"Sally!" all the boys squealed, jumping to their feet and rushing forward, relief and joy flooding in all at once. As if reading their thoughts, she quickly held out both hands, palm outwards, least they all decided to hug her for joy.

"Easy, easy," she said good-naturedly, and noticing Jess, she gently addressed her: "You can put that away now. You did good in the way you didn't want innocent civilians to get hurt."

When the girl continued to remain quiet and still, Sally strode forward and patted the girl's bowed head.

"Come on," she added in when the girl continued to look down as she kept the penknife in the luggage. "Don't tell me you really want them to castrate them?"

"You sure you want the truth, woman?" Wufei asked rhetorically, folding his arms and forgetting the effect it had on his image. "Tonight, I won't sleep easy."

"Oh, don't be so sure," retorted Sally, for unknown to the boys, she spotted two wet spots suddenly appearing on the girl's skirt. "I don't think that's what she's thinking. Come Jess, get up."

And she watched as the girl slowly got to her feet, face still facing down, her newly cut fringe falling forward to cover her eyes.

"Now look at me."

Slowly the girl lifted her face to reveal two streams of tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Geh!" Wufei exclaimed, taking a step back. "I definitely didn't do anything to her!" But his explanation was ignored by both girls.

"Really," Sally whispered, taking out her hankie and wiping Jess's eyes and cheeks dry. "Is that all you're capable of? I know it must be a big switch of environment for you over here, but you have to be strong to survive it."

"Oh Sally!" And she burst into another flood of tears before engulfing the older lady into a hug. "I was so scared when they talked like that!"

"There, there. It's over now," came the understanding reply and with it, a comforting pat on the back. And she allowed the young girl to sob into her shoulder till her eyes were dry.


	52. Mission 1

_AN: Alright! It's my free time again to write. I feel so elated to get started. _

_But first, I like to thank my patient and adorable reviewers: Athene Saile, Bunny, Raizard333, haguregumo, Moon Fighter and cryearthstearsfalltou. Thank you all so much for sticking this long with me. It just simply wonderful to read your reviews. _

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 52 – Day 1**

So it became that they all got three rooms. Heero and Duo got the north side of the hostel, facing the boys' school directly. Quatre's room faced the west side, overlooking the garden and rose bushes behind the showers room. Jess, together with Wufei, got the South side room. Allowing them to monitor part of the school and the forest behind. The blind side, which was the east side, was secretly wired up with a hidden camera, allowing Heero twenty-four hours surveillance of the nearby town and the roads.

All in all, it wasn't too bad a deal since each room came with its own bathroom. But for a certain twosome siblings, it just wasn't enough.

"Why couldn't you get Wufei to be Quatre's roommate?" Jess demanded into the laptop's inbuilt camera, which Heero painstakingly took a whole afternoon to link up to the Headquarters via a wireless antenna com-surfer.

Doctor J tried hard not to laugh. Unknown to the girl, her eye, which peered unerringly into the camera, was blown up across sixty-four screens. Rendering the rest of her face and body disproportionately small over the remaining circumference of thirty-six screens.

Giving a delicate cough, he answered in his best knowledgeable voice: "Considering that how funny it will look if the real sisters aren't sharing a room, plus the Racelands and Lauther are only to be your said neighbors, I don't think it is really a good idea to draw attention like that."

"Then we **make** them the best of friends."

"Absolutely not," the good doctor rejected, shaking his head for emphasis. "If you do that, then if he never returns back to your side . . ."

"You make it sound as if I'm in some love entanglement with Quarisa over her." Came the despondent conclusion and with it, a suspicious looking eye.

"Yes, well . . ."

"And if you must know, something very _important_ is coming soon. And don't want _"her"_ in the same room as me. At least for a week." Finally, the real reason she was fretting over in her mind came to light.

"Oh . . .! A Week . . . I guess during that time you can switch rooms with Quatre . . ." the doctor, with some reluctance, gave in. After all, if he didn't compromise, future consequences didn't look very bright. Plus, a small loss must not interfere with the bigger goal at any cost.

"And I would require a small electric partition ASAP, if you please," she requested suddenly, catching the doctor off guard completely.

"Wh . . . Why?!" he exclaimed, surprised at this most unusual request. He had been expecting demands for more money if the theory about women ran right. But somehow, this girl was just not confirming it.

Leaning back finally to give him a good view of the entire room and its occupants, she pointed an accusing finger at the subject of her conversation and said: "I don't feel safe sleeping in the same room with "her" without, at least, a barrier."

"Fine, granted. But why electric? Wherever did you get that idea from?"

The vision on the screen suddenly shifted and then he had a good view of the school's field outside.

"See that fence?" he heard the girl's voice questioned, "It's a very good piece of defense, especially for my case."

"Like anyone would want your stick-thin figure and plain face," he heard Wufei sharp retort and sighed. As expected, a loud "whack!" soon followed. Confirming his suspicions about the girl's gradual improvement in the area of violence.

Then the vision changed and he found himself looking into the room again, minus one occupant from the previous vision.

"The electric barrier will come to you as a small standing lamp. Its fence will be made entirely out of electricity. Make sure you read the instructions first before you end up zapping yourself or your "sister" upon activation of the device," he quickly said, before she could open her mouth to demand again the object for her security.

He received a grave nod from the girl as thanks and then she opened her mouth to say: "About money. I need more."

Immediately Doctor J started to relax. This was an area he had some experience in, at least in his younger heydays. He put on his listening ear and started dreaming of other things.

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Day 3 

"How were lessons?" Quatre quipped the moment they walked into his room. He received mixed reactions to his question.

"Terrible," Heero grumbled, dropping his books on the desk.

"Actually, I found it quite enriching," Duo countered, shooting Heero an irritated look.

"What did you learn that made you say that?" Quatre asked in amazement, eyes widening as he leaned forward to catch the American boy's answer.

Instead, it was the Japanese who answered: "The bozo has a crash on the Maths teacher." And he walked over to the refrigerator, grabbing an empty glass off the fridge top as he opened the door. Meanwhile, Duo grinned from ear to ear.

"I can't help it if I'm cute and adorable and . . ." he bragged, puffing out his chest a little. Quatre turned his head away to hide his smile. Apparently, the American had forgotten he was currently a girl!

"And you answered all her _complex_ maths questions, something that no NORMAL 9th grader can do." Heero cut in, filling the glass to the brim with orange juice.

"You're just jealous she favored me over you."

"You're the idiot that's going to blow our **cover.**"

"Now, now," Quatre quickly interrupted, holding up his hands in an attempt to pacify the agitated boys. "It's just a Maths lesson. There is no need for you two to get so worked up over it." However, the boys continued to glare at each other mercilessly.

Deciding to risk it a little, Quatre dropped his nice girl voice and added in softer, heavier, tones: "The walls have ears. You do not want to be discovered on your second day of school only, now do you?"

"Humph!" and both boys turned their backs on each other.

"Anyway, where is Wuling and Weiling?" he quickly asked, trying his best to divert their attention elsewhere by changing the topic. Like magic, the doorknob turned and the duo entered the room.

"I want to sever all sisterly ties with her!" Wufei announced the moment he opened his mouth.

"Why?!" Quatre cried out, feeling and looking very perplex as to why everyone's feelings were so uptight.

"Her grades are gonna arouse suspicion next to mine."

"So I got a C for Chinese on the 1) apt test. Big deal!" Jess sulkily revealed the problem behind Wufei's disgruntlement. And she sat on Quatre's bed, crossing her legs and folding her arms across her chest; all the while pouting. Quatre resisted the urge to pat her on the head like he would to an upset dog.

"I got an A!" Wufei practically shouted, his expression caught between pride and irritation.

"Just one stupid test . . ." the girl grumbled under her breath. "Not like it's gonna kill you or something . . ."

"What's that?" Wufei was instantly at her side, hovering over her with hands on his hips. Jess flinched, bending her body slightly away from him. "WHAT IS THAT?!!"

"I said just one stupid test!" she shouted back, aiming her voice for his ear. A lot of good that did. He shoved his face close to hers and glared right into her eyes.

"Biology, Physics, Geography, you flunked them all!" Wufei practically screeched, his voice rattling them off like a machine gun. And he slammed his hands onto the bed on either side of her, bending forward until he was nose to nose with her and she could bend back no further. "And you barely passed Maths and History! The only subject you got a B for was English!"

"Hey! I never learned Biology, Physics or Geography while I was in school and I can't help it if the History here only bears a slight resemblance to where I come from. And in the first place, I was always mediocre at Maths and my Chinese was never that outstanding to begin with!"

Duo's eyebrows shot up on hearing her explanation.

"That explains a lot of things," he brightly concluded, earning himself a couple of resigned sighs.

"You . . .!" Fury made Wufei at a loss of words on what to say to such an inept woman and a brainless idiot of a friend.

"Ahem . . ." Quatre delicately coughed into his hands, bring attention back to him.

"**WHAT**?!" the furious Chinese boy bit out, when the Arab continued to look at him in an expecting manner without a word.

"Could you kindly sit up?" the blond asked, looking very serious for once. "The image you're giving us is very . . . inappropriate."

Realizing that he was nearly lying on top of the girl, Wufei immediately acted. He was up and across the room in a blink of an eye, red face and all.

Meanwhile, Jess tried her best to look affronted instead of embarrassed. But the blush rushing into her cheeks refuse to be suppressed, no matter how hard she tried. Slowly she sat up, keeping her head down to hide her embarrassment.

By then, an uncomfortable silence had settled in the room, making each boy acutely aware of how awkward the situation had become. They shuffled their feet around, looking everywhere but at her, all the while forcing their brains into overtime, thinking of what to say to break the quiet.

Then Quatre sighed, took the glass of orange juice out of a surprised Heero's hand and gave it to the girl.

"Next time," he said in a jovial voice, winking at her cheekily, "We'll get Duo to tackle him off."

"Hey! Why me?"

But Quatre ignored the American's protest. His words had gotten the reaction he wanted. The girl simply smiled and sipped the orange juice gratefully.

"What's so important that we have to be here?" the Chinese boy demanded on seeing that the atmosphere in the room was returning to normal. He re-adjusted his spectacles on his nose while waiting for Heero to answer.

"New Orders."

"Really?" the girl questioned, looking actually hopeful. She was obviously hoping he would be out the remainder of the day and with any luck, all night as well. At times like this, Wufei wished Master O had let him bring his sword along with him. A little intimidation could last a long time for his benefit.

"So what are they?" Duo asked, leaning against the wall and regarding his roommate, oblivious to his co-pilot's dark thoughts.

"It appears that a portfolio, containing the newest Federation line of Robots and Weaponry just came in. Unfortunately, this will be kept under lock and key. That means hard copy."

"Huh?" As usual, the only puzzled one had to be the girl. Wufei huffed with indignation.

'_Oh, the trials I have to go through . . .' _he thought with a grim smile lightly touching his lips.

Taking pity on the girl, Quatre quickly explained in a gentle voice: "When they keep hard copies, it means they won't be keying the data into the computer. In a way, it is effective against hackers," and the blond boy threw a knowing glance in Heero's direction, "And it also makes good bait, luring the enemy to go to them, if they want the data really bad."

"Aaaa . . . So?"

"So they can set traps, catch you and if they do, extract whatever information they can get out of you before killing you! That's what!" Wufei finally lost his patience and got straight to the point.

"Ssshhhhh!" Quatre quickly hushed, putting a finger to his lips with a berating look. "My neighbor is sleeping next door. The last thing I want is for her to hear our conversation."

"Don't worry, if she isn't awake from all of Wufei's previous ranting and screaming, it's highly unlikely she'll wake now," Duo jokingly answered, coming to the defense of the girl.

"Chei!"

"So, when do we need to go get this mission done?" Duo curiously asked, tucking his hands behind his head. His long, flowing locks started to spill over his shoulders and down his front, draping alluringly over the curves the school uniform gave him. Jess looked away, trying hard not to blush. For his arms now bordered around his hair, causing it to curl gently around his face, emphasizing his high cheekbones and vivid purple eyes. In the light of the afternoon sun, pouring through the window, Duo looked like some rare, exotic beauty that men in history, would fight wars over.

Meanwhile, Quatre smiled and pulled his long, golden blond hair to one side before settling himself next to Jess. The golden, healthy locks caught the sunrays and reflected the light to every corner of the room, causing them to dance happily across the walls and furniture.

"What do you think?" he teased, picking up a lock and twirling it round his finger. Jess noticed it was lately becoming his habit when deep in thought. "It's obviously today."

Jess tried hard to squash the sudden blossoming jealousy that was starting in her chest. For not only did Quatre portrayed innocence and beauty effortlessly, even her own "sister" was shapelier than her, having curves that the young girl secretly craved for herself.

"Now?" Wufei questioned with incredulousness, feeling so totally unprepared for once in his life. "What about lessons?"

"Hn. Who said now? It's tonight. We start at 10.30pm, ground hour." Heero corrected, going to the desk to pick up his books on seeing that this conversation was about to end.

"Oh no! I don't think I can make it tonight," Duo quickly added in, putting a hand to his forehead in a theatrical way and throwing the other hand out like a tragic heroine being forced into a terrible choice.

"Cut the act. If you don't do it, then who else can pick locks?" came the swift judgment and Heero started striding to the door, books in hand.

"But I want to do homework."

"You? Homework?" Wufei scoffed, trailing after them. "Now that's a first. Let see if I can strike lottery tomorrow."

The voices receded off as the boys walked out the door and into the passageway, out of sight.

"What do you think?" Quatre questioned, taking the girl by surprise.

"M . . . me . . .?" she hesitantly asked, unsure of what he was hinting at. She looked into those big, baby blue eyes and felt like she was swimming in them.

Quatre nodded and waited patiently for her answer. Jess immediately set aside her glass of orange juice, got up and strode to the window, in an effort to clear her thoughts. Just looking into such clear, blue eyes for the first time in her life, made her think of going to the poolside for a good swim.

'_That's right. It's been a long time since I last swam. Just relaxing and playing with the water . . .'_ her mind wandered off, thinking of the inviting blue on such a hot day as this. Meanwhile, a small part of her mind acknowledged that this was better than getting all jealous over a bunch of boys, even if they did look better than the real thing.

"Jess?" came the inquiry and with it, a slight worry reflected in the voice. That was enough to break Jess out of her reverie.

"How good is Duo at scaling walls? Or rather electric ones?" Jess quickly asked, her mind quickly grabbing onto anything to cover up her drifting off.

"Why? Does it matter?" Quatre asked, frowning slightly. The girl was beginning to behave funnily.

Seeing the frown, Jess immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking of other things," she quickly said, hoping the sunlight didn't accentuate the blush starting on her cheeks again. "Where is the place you guys have to go to steal that piece of data from?"

At that, Quatre got up from the bed and went over to the window. Beckoning Jess to follow his example, he leaned out of the window and looked north to the boy's school. Jess could see the rose bushes and garden stretched out under her, and the pool some distance away. Then Quatre pointed in the direction of the Federation Headquarters, which was just slightly North-West of St Edwins.

"The base is in that direction. Are you planning to get us to go through the boys' school?"

Seeing there was no other way, Jess obediently nodded like a trained dog. And secretly hated it.

"Hm . . . That is a good plan. But the 2.5 meters high electric wall can be a problem . . . I think I am starting to see your point."

Then pulling their heads in, they faced each other. One deep in thought, winding again the lock of hair around his finger, the other mind equally blank as it was when she first ended up in this world.

'_Problem?'_ Jess silently mused and searched her head. Her mind drew a blank as always. She obviously hadn't thought that far yet.

Then Quatre started mumbling to himself: "Duo may have great skills at picking locks and sneaking around unseen. But he always needed a sort of foothold or catchments to make that kind of leap over that kind of tall wall without touching it. Plus, getting a ladder of any sort would be too risky and easy to spot here on the compound. I have never done such jumps before and my hair is a bit heavy . . . can't risk that either. Heero looks like himself. One check on the computers and our covers will be blown, like it or not."

And looking up, he gave Jess the once over before sighing and shaking his head with regret.

"Hey!" she rebutted, folding her arms and giving him a disapproving look. In return, Quatre just offered her a weak smile and continued contemplating the remaining options available to the mission at hand.

"Pity the gates do not remain open after six," he grouched to himself, letting dismay show on his face.

"What **exactly** is the real problem?" Jess at last stressed. Feeling terribly left out of the other boy's thoughts. She could see he was getting further and further ahead of her with every second and she still had no clue as to what the problem was, even if she was the one that brought it to his attention.

Seeing her puzzled look on her face for the second time that day, Quatre started to worry. As commanding leader, the girl seemed to have absolutely no clue what to do or think other than to follow what was blatantly obvious.

'_Tactic. This girl has no idea on tactic or what exactly we are dealing with,'_ he realized with growing horror. And an unbidden image of her lying dead on the ground at his feet increased that horror triple fold.

"Nothing you have to worry your head about," he quickly finished and turned his back on her. Jess blew air into her cheeks in frustration. Quatre was suddenly shutting himself off from her!

"Yes there is! I just don't get it. Tell me!"

"Really, there is nothing," the blond called back over his shoulder, heading towards the door. Jess started to **really** hate herself for what she was about to do next but she did it anyway out of necessity.

She reached out, caught a good handful of golden hair and yanked. Hard.

"Yeeowww!" the little blond guy uttered, clutching his sore spot as he tripped backwards. Jess caught him and looped her arm around his neck. This brought back some very old memories from the earlier days and she grinned.

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Minutes later, she had all the information she wanted.

"So what you're saying is that Wufei can manage a jump like that but the one who can pick locks can't?" she questioned with amusement before breaking into pearls of laughter.

Quatre rubbed the sore spot on his neck where the Adams apple was. Perhaps he was thinking far too deep and quickly. If she could grip like that, she would have no problem with any other soldier from the Federation or OZ, provided they were unarmed. Plus, thinking back, the training wasn't altogether a failure . . .

"Don't forget the gate closes at six and security at the base won't be lax until after 11pm," he quickly reminded the girl, least she came up with something weird.

"Huh? I didn't hear Heero say that."

Quatre sighed for the umpteen time that day and continued his explanation: "Heero said ground hour was at 10.30pm. That would mean by the time the infiltrator reach the base, it should be around 11pm approximately, since it takes half an hour to travel by foot through the terrain."

"But the gate closes at six!"

"Precisely," Quatre triumphantly concluded, patting himself on the back for finally getting the girl to understand the complications. "So Duo either have to leave during his free period today and stay out the whole night, or we have to think of some way for him to get back in before the midnight check."

"Wouldn't it be better to get Duo to go to the place, dressed as one of them, pick the locks and then come back before six?"

"I'm afraid not. The plan is: once the locks are picked, Heero will scramble the computers, giving Duo only a fifteen seconds free time to bill and blend before the backup systems starts working. That means that as long as all the locks are opened, the alarm will go off in three seconds if the silencing code is not typed in immediately on opening the last lock. So if he goes before 10.30pm, his chances of escaping are even thinner, even impossible."

"No chance he can get the silencing codes?" the girl asked, hands clasped together in her lap with anxiety.

"Nope. Not unless he can read one of the high ranking officers minds like a telepath."

"Fine. How about this: we get Duo to go to that place, checkout the locks and then come back before six to tell Wufei how to pick the locks. Then when it hits 10.30pm, Wufei can go with an assured mind on how to get things done. Wouldn't that solve everything?"

For a moment, all Jess received was a shocked look from Quatre. Then his face brightened and he reached out. Giving her a quick kiss of gratitude on the cheek before rushing out to find the rest.

Leaving behind a very flustered female with only one thought on her mind: _'Mom's gonna kill me if she knew this.'_

Author's Proclamation:

1) Apt test is a compulsory test that new students have to take upon entering the school. The reasoning behind this procedure is for the school to assess the students' academic abilities and knowledge.

Unfortunately for Jess, her intellect made her slip two grades behind, ending up in the same class as the G-boys. Truth is, she was too old to slip back any further without causing humiliation to the imaginary "family" . . .


	53. BMB

_AN: This is definitely something interesting. Hope you enjoy it . . ._

_I like to thank my faithful reviewers: Raizard333, cryeathstearsfalltou, haguregumo, Moon Fighter, Bunny, Shini no Tenshi and AlyRain. Thank you all for your reviews on each chapter. It's great knowing that you enjoy the fic still. And it's a great motivation for me to write and improve myself more with each chapter. :_

_I also like to welcome: Iris and Remiera. Thanks for all the reviews you did, Iris. Wow . . . It must have made you spend a lot of time. And to Remiera, I'm glad you enjoyed the recent chapters. It shows that I am gradually improving. _

_Just out of curiosity, if my story shouldn't be labeled G, will PG13 suffice?_

_Now on with the fic!_

Chapter 53: Boy meets Boy 

"I'll WILL see you Saturday, right Karl?" the girl pleaded from the other side of the fence, her hands clasped in front of her with a begging look on her face.

Karl just blew her a kiss and a wink. It seemed to satisfy the girl immensely for she gave an excited yelp and started running towards the school. Meanwhile, his friends were also saying their last goodbyes to their dates.

"So . . . Mr Popular," one of his best friend called, falling into step with him. "What did you think of Miss Popular? A perfect match made in Heaven?"

Karl just shrugged his shoulders. To tell the truth, he was bored to tears. Miss Popular also seemed to have taken the title in his mind: Miss Prim and Proper. Sure, she was exciting at first, but she became like all the other girls. Too easy to get. And good at feigning innocence when her inner self was really a scheming vixen.

"Quit annoying him, can't you see he's a bit down?" Ronald, his childhood friend from young, joined the group. "Obviously he doesn't think Miss Meldor is a suitable candidate."

"Well excuse me if I hurt the _King_ of the group," David huffed, looking deeply offended. "But not all of us are blessed with his good looks and wealth. Not to mention family heritage."

At the mention of his background, Karl stopped his walking.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ronald called back. He and David had stopped too, looking back at him curiously.

"David?"

"Yeah?"

"You liked your date, didn't you?"

David shrugged his shoulders in reply. "I could use a prettier one . . ."

"So that would mean you need my help to fix you up, right?"

"Yeah. So? Don't tell me you're minding now man."

"I'm not."

"Then what?"

"Go back first."

"What?"

"I said go back first!" he shouted and then held up a hand to halt Ronald from taking a step towards him. "I want to be alone. For a while."

"But . . ."

"No buts! . . . Sorry Ron, I need some time to think. Please."

Whether it was the long understanding between them or the silent plead in his voice, Ronald nodded his head.

"Fine. Come on Dave. We'll wait for him at the Dom."

Karl watched till the two disappeared within the inner walls of the Dormitory before turning back to the fence, which separated the two schools.

At 1.89 meters, Karl looked quite the promising young man; brownish-red hair sat rakishly on his head, high and prominent cheekbones complimented a strong and straight nose, and sensual lips sat above a young yet firm chin. His gray eyes, framed with long lashes and fine eyebrows, would turn stormy when he was feeling intense emotions. And to top it off, a dimple would appear whenever his smiled

For his coming to school, it had been fun at first when faced with the prospect of having an all boys' school opposite an affiliated girls' school. It had been even more fun trying to enter it with his childhood friend, under the pretence of being a girl applicant.

But then, with the passing of time, and the many experiences gained from close contact with the opposite sex, all that fun vanished. He learned that life was made of shallow promises and thrills. He learned things were only given on a physical and financial level. He learned that everyone was after him for the benefits he could provide them.

He learned as himself, he was nothing. It was his wealth, looks and family heritage that gave him everything.

Clasping his hands behind his back, Karl walked along the parameter of the fence, looking at it longingly, but not daring to touch it for a strong electric current ran through it. The fence, to him, represented his wealth, heritage and looks, the barrier that he could not get over.

The barrier that was both a blessing and a curse to him.

'_If only . . .'_ he thought, looking at the fence with both disgust and admiration. _'If only I can find a girl, who do not know who I am or what I am, who wants me for only me . . . I will gladly woo her and make her my bride.' _

But with a bitter laugh, he realized the impossible. Over at Saint Hilary, he was famous for who he was. And every single girl was out to catch his eye . . . and wealth. The promises made, the willingness given . . . He had hundreds of love letters to prove it.

'_You can stop being a fool now,'_ he admitted to himself, allowing a sadistic smile to settle on his lips. _'No one over there is ignorant of who I am. Why! I . . .'_

Throwing his arms wide and spinning around, his right hand connected with something.

"Ouch!" A "**thump**" and a storm of papers flying up followed the uttered word.

"!"

On the ground, beside his feet, a girl in a cheongsam sat rubbing her cheek, amidst the floating papers. And she had the biggest chest he had ever saw. He couldn't stop staring at it. They were really big.

"Hey you, never seen a person before?!" the girl asked him roughly. She had no manners at all. And obviously no sense of decency because when she got up, she squatted, in her slit to nigh cheongsam, and started collecting all the fallen papers. Karl stared at the legs. Those were the longest pairs of legs he has seen too.

Then the girl finished collecting her papers and stood. Only then did Karl realized how tall this girl was. Judging from the way she came up to his neck, he could estimate her height to be in 1.70s meter range, close to 1.80 meters.

"Apologize," the girl suddenly demanded.

"Huh?"

"You hit me, it's obvious you should apologize."

"Now listen here miss, if you had looked where you were going, I wouldn't have hit you."

"If you hadn't suddenly thrown your arm out like that and span around, I wouldn't have been hit." she returned back coolly, tapping her fingers on the papers as if he was wasting her time. Karl decided to use intimidation.

"If you didn't sneak up on me like that, I wouldn't have hit you!" he shouted at her, giving her his most fierce look.

"If you hadn't decided to stand there, looking like an idiot, at that part of the fence, I wouldn't have been hit!" she shouted back, her cheeks turning red from anger. Karl was taken aback. No one had ever treated him like this before. Especially those from the opposite sex.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked, excitement building within him.

"Why? Should I?" came the curt questions. Karl's heart leapt for joy. This was the girl he had been searching for, the answer to all his prayers. But then he started thinking.

'This could be a ploy, innocent and ignorant girl winning heart of man, when innocent and ignorant girl, knows everything about man to win his heart. I have to test first.' 

"I'm Jason," he falsely introduced himself, holding out his hand with his most charming smile on his face. Instead, he got a black look.

"Like I care." And the girl gathered her legs under her and vaulted the fence in a fluid, graceful jump. In the moonlight, Karl could see the fast yet graceful movement and his heart soared just seeing the girl jump over a fence almost one and half times her height without any harm.

'_Beautiful,'_ he breathed as he watched the girl land in a crouch, before taking off in the direction of Saint Hilary dormitory. _'And you are mine.'_

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Running towards the school, Wufei couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Throwing a glance over his shoulder, he could make out the outline of the same guy still standing at the same place, watching him make his getaway.

"Weird guy," he muttered to himself as he slowed down to pull open the dormitory door. "And rude too."

And then he cleanly forgot all about the guy till two days later.


	54. Swimming and Swinging

AN: Ok, this is the next chapter. Hopefully it is even funnier than the last. At least I thought it was . . .

And to my dedicated reviewers: Iris, Athene Saile, Raizard333, Chikara-Yuy, Kuria, Bunny, Dream Keeper, Magical Wiseskill, haguregumo and Moon Fighter. Soooooooo good to hear from all you guys. I truly enjoy reading your reviews. Once again, thank you for your interest in this fic.

For the new reviewers: gundam gurl, IBC, x-digitalangel-x and cherryblossoms21, thank you for reviewing this fic. I know it must be hard to read so long a fic but hopefully you will continue to enjoy it, hopefully even more.

Now on with the fic!

**Chapter 54: Swimming and Swinging**

The day for the swimming lessons started out like any other: clear blue skies, a bright sun and an inviting pool.

Jess stretched and smiled. The last time she had gone swimming was back in her world; together with her two best friends. It had been wonderful then. Splashing about in the pool, challenging each other on who could swim the fastest and analyzing which were the cutest (and sexiest) boys there were at the pool. Now she was going swimming with five guys posing as girls.

Jess lost her smile then. Out there, there were going to be tens of girls parading around in their swimsuits, unaware of the wolves in their amidst. An insane urge to drag them back into the bathroom gripped her.

Meanwhile, next to her, her "sister" stretched and yawned. He had a bored look on his face.

"Don't see what's so great about these swimming suits . . ." he muttered more to himself than to her. "They hinder my movements more than my set of trunks. Not to mention these two things keep getting in my way."

"If those two things on your chest were real, I'm sure you'll be saying something different all together," Jess retorted, folding her own arms, uncomfortably aware of her own inferior A cup size chest compared to his C cup size ones.

"Hn!"

"Hey Jess, Wu," Duo called, coming up to them, his feet softly padding across the bathroom tiled floor. With his long hair free from it's usual braid and a light application of blusher artfully applied to his cheeks, Duo looked every bit a young ravishing lady.

Jess blushed. Just looking at the perfect pose of Duo as he walked and Wufei's shapely figure, she was beginning to feel VERY inept to be the representative of the female race. The realistically created color-adaptor, high tech, skin soft, siliconic breasts on the boys were not helping either.

"Woah . . .what's with the bathrobe?" Duo asked her, coming to a stop in front of them. His eyes seized her up from top to bottom, taking in her shoulder length hair free from its usual ponytail, to her full-length bathrobe.

"N . . . Nothing."

Disbelieve showed on Duo face but he politely kept his council.

"So where is Quarisa and Helen?" Wufei asked, his eyes searching for the missing companions.

"Them? Q had a little trouble with you know what," he answered nonchalantly, checking his fingernails for peeling nail polish. "I told him to practice like me in the beginning, but you know how stubborn he can get." And he proceeded to admire his own set of bosom proudly.

Wufei closed his eyes and clasped a hand to his forehead.

"Sorry people," Quatre voice suddenly sounded behind them. "Waited long?" With long blond hair that reached his knees in soft waves and a fringe that framed his angelic face and emphasized his baby blue eyes, Quatre looked every inch as beautiful as a princess right out of a fairytale.

Meanwhile, Heero nodded to them in greeting. He looked every inch like himself, except for the swimming suit and the ridiculous polka dot ribbon on his head. Jess tried hard not to look in Heero's direction. He made her want to laugh.

"No. Shall we head for the pool?" All of the boys nodded their heads in agreement.

"After you, my lady," Duo said with a cheeky smile. And he held the door open for Jess.

"Thank you," Jess replied and stepped out onto the marble tiles that lined the parameters of the pool. Duo gave a mock bow and stepped out after her.

"Hey, what about us?" Wufei grouched, throwing Duo a disgruntled look. The door had nearly slid shut in his face.

Duo response was to pull one lower eyelid down and stick out his tongue.

When everyone had finally stepped out, Jess popped the question.

"Is there something going on at the boy's side?" she asked. The rest of class was crowding at one section of the fence, blocking their view of whatever was on the other side.

"Not that I know of," Quatre answered, a look of surprise on his own face. Jess eyebrows shot up.

"How would you know of the boy's events?" she asked, curious at this unexpected answer.

"Simple," he said, his left hand fingers going between his breasts, "fan letters from the other side." And he extracted three small white envelopes, each sealed with a small heart. These he placed gently on the small poolside table next to them. "Always been wanting to show you all these, but I keep forgetting."

"You got that too?" Duo questioned, his eyes going wide with disbelieve, "and here I thought I was the only one." And he too extracted three similar white envelopes.

Heero pulled out two pink, perfumed ones. "Girls," he explained, adding his lot to the small poolside table. Then all eyes focused on Jess and Wufei.

"Don't look at me, I haven't checked my mailbox in ages," Wufei said, shrugging his shoulders. "And I do believe O have more important things to do than write to a fifteen year old."

"Jess?"

Jess could see three pairs of eyes looking at her expectantly.

"I . . . er . . . haven't checked my mailbox either. I'll let you know when I get one?"

"Uh huh." Wufei smirked, placing his face closer to Jess's face. "We believe you."

"Gee . . . thanks. But that didn't sound very sincere."

"Of course. You actually thought I mean it?" he said, clearly gloating away. Jess felt like punching him. He really knew how to rub salt into an open wound.

"Talk about pathetic. You're a poor excuse for a woman."

"Oh? And what about you? I don't see you exactly waving a couple of letters around like them!" Jess shot back, pointing at the other three boys.

Wufei gave a huff and folded his arms. "Of course not. I'm a boy. **Naturally** I shouldn't be receiving any letters of any kind."

"Guys! I suggest you hold your tongues!" Quatre hissed, halting the argument in mid-quarrel. "Here comes Miss Meldor and the last thing you would want to do is to give her something to talk about."

So Jess and Wufei had no choice but to bite their tongues, watching sulkily as Meldor slid up to their group. To everyone's surprise, she stopped in front of Wufei.

"You!" she said in a loud voice, attracting everyone's attention. "You're Wuling, right?"

"Yeah?" Wufei was taken by surprise. He wasn't expecting the Leader of the "Elites" in school to notice him.

"You'll pay for this outrage! Mark my words, you shall! Come! Lets move!" she commanded her little group of followers, "The sight of her makes me sick."

Then she turned her nose up at Wufei with a "Hn!", which was really dumb because Wufei was a head taller than her. She ended up looking into his nostrils, as she brushed passed. Meanwhile, her followers did likewise, each making the effort to brush past him too.

"Are the majority of the female race this idiotic?" he asked Jess and then immediately held up a hand: "Wait! I know the answer. It is yes."

"Yes my foot! The answer is no!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I think I got a fly stuck in my ear. It's IRRITATING and NOISY."

"Why you . . .!"

"Shelve your arguments!" Quatre cut in, his voice suddenly fierce. Then directing his attention to Wufei, he demanded: "I want to know what you did in the boy's school 2 nights ago!"

"Nothing! Why are you suddenly bringing it up?"

At that, Quatre chose to raise his hand to point at the fence. All heads whipped around to take a good look at what he was pointing at. Jess noticed all the girls from before had parted to the sides, giving them a clear view of the object behind the fence.

A 6-feet tall red poster stood on the ground facing their side of the school. On it, large, bold white words were printed very clearly.

Duo gave a low whistle.

"What happened that night?" this time Heero asked, his arms folded across his chest and his face encased in its usual stone mask.

"I swear, Nothing!"

"Nothing?!" Quatre nearly shrieked, the hand pointing at the fence had begun to quiver with intense emotion. "That poster says: 'Karl loves Wuling!' and you're telling me that's nothing??!!"

"Who is Karl?" Heero went into interrogation mode.

"I don't know!"

"Do you know what he looks like?"

"Hack! No! I never even met the guy before!"

"Do you think he is cute?" Duo asked. That paused the interrogation and earned him some rather nasty glares.

"Duo," Heero whispered in a dangerous voice, putting his face close to the long-haired boy, "Focus."

"Hai . . ."


	55. Second meeting

AN: This is the next segment. But first off, I like to wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS! This is the fic's second Christmas and as a celebration, I'm giving a special short chapter fic again, this time called: Christmas with Jess and the G-Boys. See how you like it. :

To my faithful and adorable reviewers: Chikara-Yuy, x-digitalangel-x, Raizard333, Iris, Dream Keeper, Kuria, cherryblossoms21, cryearthstearsfalltou, Shini no Tenshi and Remiera. Thanks soooo much for reviewing. Hope you enjoy this chapter and the sidefic.

Two new reviewers too: Welcome Black Spell and kyo's Lil Kitten. Hope you will enjoy the further chapters to come.

Happy holidays everyone and seasons greetings! :

Now on with the fic!

Chapter 55 

A haughty voice interrupted the impromptu meeting right at that very moment.

"Hey Wuling! Are you feeling touched by my expression of love?"

Wufei felt his right eyebrow twitch. Like a forewarning before experiencing _super_ bad luck.

With some effort, and an even greater amount of will to remain calm, he turned his head to look at the troublemaker for the first time.

"**You** . . ." he began, recognizing the brownish red hair, the unique grey eyes, and the unmistakable arrogant and smug air he carried around himself like a cloak, to be that of the guy he met two nights ago. However he quickly swallowed up the rest of the sentence, for the corner of his mind, registered the sudden unbearable and relentless interest of the other people surrounding him.

Quickly, he searched his mind for an excellent solution to resolve this unanticipated problem immediately.

"I'm sorry," he quickly amended, feigning innocence. "Do I know you?"

The guy gave a smirk that Wufei immediately found annoying before stepping up to the fence to say: "Oh, you know me. We were right over there by the tree, having a nice chat with each other that night."

"I seriously don't know what you're talking about," Wufei immediately latched on the most universal and convenient answer, all the while, his eyes darted towards to teacher's access door with worry. As if reading his thoughts, Yuy casually but deliberately strolled over to the teacher door's before leaning against it. Only a slight arm movement betrayed him from time to time, of his real motive in jamming it.

Seeing that this issue was taken care of by someone reliable, Wufei secretly heaved a sigh of relief and brought his attention back to the real issue at hand.

"Are you really sure you don't know who I am?" That arrogant question came with a superior look that reminded Wufei very much of Treize, when he won their brief clash of swords battle.

And that made his blood start to boil.

"Fine. I don't really care," he bit out, letting his tone be sharp and cutting for the first time since he entered this school.

"Oh, how cruel . . ." the young man stated, putting up a good show of adorable and yet sad, tragic victim. "After we had done this and done that . . . Oh, how my heart sings to remember it all!"

If long hair could stand on the end, against the force of gravity, Wufei had no doubt his own was already doing it.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY "**THIS**" and "**THAT**??!!" he screamed, rushing up to the fence in both agony and embarrassment. If the guy kept up that kind of talk, misunderstandings were bound to occur.

"You really want me to say it?" the guy asked with a sly, and perhaps in very silly women's eyes, suave smile, "Some of the things still makes me blush. Especially when you were so passionate, wild and free . . .!"

"Quit talking your sick fantasies into reality!!!" came the antagonized yell from an equally antagonized boy. And he reached out to grab the fence and leverage himself over to give his tormentor a lesson or two, in ultimate pain.

"**NO! Wuling!"** Duo cried out, but he was a second too late.

**Buuuuzzzzzzzzz!**

There was a short display of lighting before the fake girl fell to the ground, knocked out by all 150 watts.

The rest of the gang was left numb with a mixture of emotions. Some amazed, others shocked and there was one who was highly amused. Which wasn't surprising at all, considering his only pleasure was to see such planks being carried out to fruition. Only one remained calm and proceeded to take the next best alternative to the predicament at hand.

Heero stopped his task at jamming the door and strolled to Wufei's still form, which was lying on the floor, motionless. Then taking the feet, he started to drag the unconscious guy past the swimming pool, into the students' access room, and out of sight. His intention clear on getting the boy to the nurse room as soon as possible.

"Care to share what is "this" and "that"?" Duo asked brightly, once sure that Heero was out of hearing range. He received two simultaneous whacks to the head from the two people at his side.

"Of all times, trust you to get interested in that!" Jess hissed out of the corner of her mouth, trying her best to look disgruntled. But it was hard, especially when some, tiny part of her was deeply interested as well.

"Duo, focus!" Quatre pleaded, never taking his eyes off the suspicious person in front of them. "We cannot let it get any worse than this. In fact, we are not suppose to be having this kind of problem, at this time!"

"Ok, ok," the brunette relented. And his brain struck upon a brilliant idea on ridding Wufei of the boy. After all, each man always had a bit of ego and pride that he must protect at the cost of his life.

"You want Wuling, right?" he asked, approaching the fence. "I'm a person who knows her likes and dislikes." A sharp jerk on his arm stopped him from proceeding any further.

"What do you think you're doing?" he heard Jess hissing into his ear. "Are you trying to earn money at his expense? He'll kill you. . . .! And us!"

"Just watch," came the lazy answer and he jerked his arm out of her grip before she could respond.

"Go on . . .," Already, Duo could see the interest in the guy's eyes as he contemplated him from head to toe.

Giving him ample time to look him up and down, Duo then continued: "First off, you need to treat me to a wonderful, expensive dinner."

**Thwak!**

"I don't remember asking you to shift it upon yourself!" came the irritated statement, along with the slipper.

Duo caught the falling slipper neatly in his right hand, ignoring the pain at the back of his head. Dimly, he registered the slipper as belonging to Quatre and sighed inwardly. The blond was loosing his well-mannered upbringing; the longer he mixed with the girl.

Meanwhile, the guy smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, and said: "I'm not interested in you. I have eyes now for one lady."

"Dinner first," Duo stated, sticking firm to his earlier demand.

**Thawk!**

Quatre's other slipper collided into his head. Fed up, Duo threw both slippers into the pool. Thus, getting rid of the threats to him and rendering the blond helpless to retaliate.

With a laugh, that sounded both false and hardly amused, the young man reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. On it was a strange crest that Duo was unable to discern at the moment, due to the distance necessary to keep from being electrified.

This coin, the guy proceeded to flip it over the fence, where it fell straight down into his open hands.

"This coin is an _exclusive_, allowed only to my family in production. You have this, it shows that one of us owes you a favor. And we, Otheallos, are people who honor any promises we make. And as long as you hold that coin, I will honor any promise I make to you. Now tell me. What do I have to do to win the lady's heart?"

Duo blinked and tried hard to remember his original plan. But that was getting harder as curiosity was getting the better of him.

'_Who exactly is this guy?'_ his mind questioned, eyes involuntary sliding back to look at the coin he held. Such levels of self-assuredness were of an abnormal level, found only in the aristocrats or high-ranking federal officials.

Impatient to get the answers, Karl at last gave in to the temptation gnawing at the back of his head ever since he entered into conversation with the girl.

"Tell me now!!" he demanded, almost shouting and shocking the girl back into reality. "Stop delaying your side of the bargain!"

Duo narrowed his eyes at the boy. One thing he didn't like was being bossed around or shouted at. No one did that to Shinigami. Not now. Not ever.

"You have to crow."

"What?"

"She likes guys who would proclaim their love from the rooftops, in front of a large audience." Swirling around and throwing his arms wide to take in the whole school, Duo continued: "If you do that to this school and yours as well, I'll say she'll be so touched, she'll be yours before you can say love."

"And how do you think I can accomplish that?!" the boy asked in incredulousness.

"Not my problem. The price for that piece of information is Dinner. And I shall be expecting that from you by next week Saturday."


	56. Swimming lesson

AN: Hope you will enjoy this chapter. I'm trying for laughs now . . . 

_To those who have enjoyed my fic and the plot, a big thank you and hug to: sheren dreamera, Raizard333, cherryblossoms21, Shini no Tenshi, Iris, Chikara-Yuy, x-digitalangel-x, Moon Fighter, IBC, Bunny and Haguregumo (who was so sweet to review by email since she couldn't review through fanfiction)!_

_And I see some new reviewers as well. Hello to: yurapasha, duckmasta2020, MadCow and Inuyasha-gal-97, thank you very much for reviewing the fic and I hope you will continue to enjoy the coming chapters. _

_Now on with the fic!_

**Chapter 56**

Once the boy had thoughtfully stridden away out of sight, Heero reappeared. Apparently having left the unconscious boy in the tender care of Sally's medical expertise.

Quickly taking him aside, Quatre questioned: "How is he?"

"Hn. He'll survive."

"Ah . . . That's a relief."

Then noticing Duo close scrutiny of the fence, Heero tilted a chin in Duo's direction in question.

Nodding his head in understanding, Quatre explained: "Duo thinks he can recharge his batteries using this fence. That would help him cut down his electricity bill from the school.

"Hn . . . Good idea," Heero agreed, looking very pleased. Already, one could tell he was latching onto a plan to make use of the free electricity to power up other things as well. And it didn't take a genius to figure out exactly what.

"Careful. From what I read, the watts are just enough to shock a person into unconsciousness, not kill them. Wing would need a lot more electric power than this. And besides, where can you find a hundred feet length of wire to connect Wing to this fence?"

**Sigh . . . **

"Point taken."

Startled gasps from the surrounding girls started, distracting the boys from their thoughts. Looking up, they saw Trowa.

In swimming briefs and wearing goggles around his neck.

His signature fringe, which usually fell over one eye, was swept back rakishly, revealing two very green, emerald cat-like eyes. And from neck down, he was definitely a drool worthy sight to see, especially for girls.

"Quarisa . . .?" Jess asked, and three pairs of eyes slid to the side to look at the blond culprit.

"I don't know. Really!" the short boy hurriedly protested, holding out his hands in a peace offering and sweating like crazy underneath his hair.

"Uh huh . . ."

'_Why do everyone assume I know everything about Trowa?' _he desperately thought, trying his best to maintain the straining smile on his face.

Then from somewhere about his person, Trowa extracted a whistle and blew it. His free arm made a circling gesture in the universal language of "gather round".

What he wasn't ready for was the onslaught of girls, practically making a beeline for the only eligible male on their side of the fence, like moths to a flame. One minute Trowa was blowing his whistle, the next minute he was retreating from a bunch of girls coming at him from all sides.

From the far corner of the fence, a small group watched this interesting little affair.

"You know, I kinda feel sorry for him," Duo remarked, folding his arms as he watched Trowa fend off a hand trying to cling onto his arm.

"Shouldn't someone at least tell him he's going the wrong way?" Jess asked, noticing the direction in which the boy was inevitably heading towards.

"Well . . ."

**Splash!**

"Hn. Too late." Heero concluded for the rest of the group, and they all nodded their heads solemnly as they watched the redhead swim towards their side of the pool. Meanwhile, the hoards of girls remained where they were because most of them genuinely didn't know how to swim.

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Finally they were all lined up alongside the pool.

As Trowa raised the whistle to his lips, he noticed something strange in the water. A pair of slippers was bobbing past his feet, bobbing to where, only God knows.

Looking around, Trowa spotted Quatre without his slippers placed behind him. Deciding to take the initiative, he slid behind the petite boy and coughed.

"First lesson . . ." he uttered to the rest of the class and pushed the unsuspecting boy into the water. "Fetch."

Everyone watched as the boy desperately tried to dog paddle to stay afloat.

"Nei!" Jess nudged Heero after a few minutes of watching the struggling blond.

"Hn?"

"What is he trying to do?"

"To float."

"Yeah . . ." the girl agreed but the frown remained on her face. "But to float means **up**, doesn't it? He's floating _down_."

"Perhaps Quarisa trying to walk on the pool bed to reach the slippers," Duo offered helpfully.

"Upside down?!" The girl questioned, incredulousness written all over her face.

"Hn . . ."

Then the bubbles stopped surfacing. All of them waited with bated breaths for the boy underneath the water to start moving. But he remained a still and silent figure at the bottom of the pool.

"Yip! Dorine!" Jess yelped, realization hitting them hard and fast at the same time.

"I'm on it," the brunette shouted as he dived into the water to save his friend.

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"Hhhh . . . hair . . . too . . . her . . . heavy" was the first thing the little blond guy gasped out as he coughed out the water.

"Yes, we guessed as much," Duo comforted in a gentle voice as he patted the boy on the back.

" . . . How?"

"I believe it has something to do with the floating upside down thing," Jess answered, shooting a glare at the person on her right. Trowa turned his back on her and marched out the door into the equipment room.

"Guess I have to quit, huh?"

The sound of Styrofoam balls lightly hitting the marble tiles in front of him answered the question. For each of the ball had a string running right through them, its purpose clearly to tie his hair with.

"Hn. Too bad," Heero replied, bending down to pick one up. "Looks like you're on for good."

"And if you start drowning," Duo hurriedly added in on seeing the crestfallen look appearing on the petite boy's face, "we'll at least know where you are. These things float even if you don't."

_AN: Stopping here early because the coming chapters are more complete as one chapter._


	57. Home Economics Class

AN: Hiya people, here are more of their adventures. :

But first, a big thank you to my wonderful, consistent reviewers (your efforts shall not go unappreciated): Raizard333, Athene Saile, Kuria, x-digitalangel-x, Remiera, cherryblossoms21, Bunny, MadCow, Shini no Tenshi, Iris and haguregumo! You guys really know how to brighten my day and keep me inspired in writing.

And to a new reviewer: Hello SAGA123, thank you for your review. It heartens me to know that my fic has made another person laugh.

Here's wishing all of you guys a laughing good time till my next chapter. Enjoy!

On with the fic!

**Chapter 57**

When the time for Home Eonomics class finally arrived, everyone in the group of five was feeling a little bit out of sorts.

Understandable for Wufei's case since he had just awaken after two days of deep sleep.

But for Quatre, Jess noticed he hadn't been quite himself lately. She often caught him nodding off in class as if he hadn't gotten his usual eight hours of sleep, and then jerking suddenly awake, as if he had just dreamt of something horrifying. Jess hazarded a guess it had to do with his close shave with death, but the rest of the boys just shrugged it off. After all, they all had close brushes with death during battles and were practically immune to it.

For Heero, the more Jess observed, the more she found him getting tenser and sneakier each day. His eyes were starting to show dark rings like Quatre's and they darted around looking; like he was a wanted man. There were times when Jess suddenly found herself talking to a blank wall, when Heero only stood there a moment ago. Or if he was in front, in a blink of an eye, he was suddenly behind, hunching up to hide behind her back.

Annoying, no doubt, but puzzling as well.

Only Duo acted normal, but due to last night's mission where he had to secretly retrieve his confiscated hand-held computer from Principal Witherby's locked desk, he was slowly dragging his feet as they moved down the hallway to the kitchen classroom.

And not to mention, Jess herself was worrying how to break the news on the result of Duo's brief exchange with Karl, to Wufei. After all, they were "sisters" and if she continued to keep silent, the chances of her getting killed was getting higher, considering that she was at his side for at least 12 hours a day.

However, on entering the kitchen classroom, all worries were completely forgotten. Jess gasped on seeing the neat rows of workbenches; each complete with their own sink, stove, oven and cabinets filled with gleaming new cooking utensils.

The boys were perking up on seeing the sparking clean kitchen cum classroom. The fresh lime smell of detergent in the air and the well-polished wooden floors made a welcoming change from the cement and cold steel that mainly made up their classrooms.

Duo's gaze traveled to the front to land delightedly on a long, wide table where plates of cut ingredients were neatly laid out, his thoughts suddenly focused on one thing: Food. Quatre, on the other hand, had a small, satisfied smile on his lips as he drifted over to one of the workbenches to admire the cookery and equipments.

Wufei, being himself, had moved over to look at the rows of knifes. No doubt thinking what a wonderful place to set up a last defense should their school get invaded. Only Heero moved forward, uninterested in anything the kitchen had to offer, except to survey for any potential escape routes.

Seeing that the boys were returning to normal, all worries that had built up over the last two days suddenly seemed to melt away and Jess let out a secret sigh of relief.

'_Perhaps I'm worrying too much,' _she thought as she took the seat between Heero and Duo at the long table. This was before spying Duo's hand darting out to snatch a cheery off the bowl nearest to him.

'_Maybe not . . .'_ and she wrestled the cheery out of his hands and returned it to its rightful bowl, none the worse except a bit squashed.

By then, the class was slowly filing in for their cooking lessons per normal. On seeing this, the rest of the deviating boys quickly went forward to take their places beside their friends.

The first glimpse of the cooking teacher was a surprise. She was a tall, thin, sallow-cheeked lady that carried her cookbook under one armpit and a cane in the other hand. Her brown hair, with streaks of gray, was carefully bun up and her large, round glasses perched precariously on the edge of her nose. Totally different from Jess's idea of cooking teachers with messy hair, a cheerful disposition and rosy, round cheeks.

Her eyes were what made the difference so obvious, being icy-blue cold and measuring. Unlike the ideal cooking teacher with dancing, laughing eyes and a big friendly smile to offer to any of her students.

This teacher didn't even crack a smile at anyone at all. Instead, she slapped the cane onto the desk; bring out a sharp 'crack!' sound and making all of them jump.

"Look here, all you spoilt brats!" she barked out, making all of them flinch. Out of the corner of her eye, Jess noticed the other girls were sitting straight up in their seats but their eyes looked dull, as if this wasn't the first time. She shivered and hoped her first deductions about the teacher were wrong.

"I don't stand for mistakes and I don't want any of you wincing when you get cut, got it?" she continued in the same severe manner. The rest of the class nodded their heads obediently. Seeing this, the five new students immediately followed. However, their late response caught the teacher's eyes.

"Hello there," she quickly greet them, pasting on a huge, fake smile that seemed to spilt her face into two. "You must be the five new students."

If Jess didn't feel the pressure of Heero's and Duo's hands suddenly on her shoulders, forcing her back down on her seat, she would have already ran out of the class screaming. Meanwhile, the teacher continued to stare at them, waiting for their response with that fake smile still plastered on her face. The pressure on Jess's shoulders increased.

"Ha . . . Hi . . . hoo," she heard herself faintly say as she did her best to work her voice and smile out. However, her tongue seemed determined to stick to the bottom of her mouth and her brain suddenly didn't know how to exactly smile. Peeking out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed both Heero and Duo trying to smile like there was no tomorrow.

Which was a pity because they looked more in pain than being happy.

"Ahhh . . . , your first time?" she questioned, as if oblivious to the discomfort she was causing all of them. Five heads nodded again in answer, hardly daring to look away, especially from the thin, whip-like cane

"Get to work!" she suddenly snapped and all of the class jumped to do her bidding.

"Not the five of you," she added in syrupy tones, on seeing Jess and the boys picking up the bowls nearest to them. The five of them quickly dropped their bowls back on the table as if they had been stung.

Once the other students had taken their places and starting cooking, the teacher turned to them and introduced herself: "I'm Miss Theotla Jenny. You may call me Miss Jenny. I will be your cooking teacher from now on. If you have anything you like to know, feel free to ask me. Understand?"

Five heads nodded obediently again. Each secretly thinking that was the last, likely thing they would do in any event, unless . . .

And four pairs of eyes slid sideways to look at the girl.

Jess sneezed and wondered why the room had suddenly become so chilly.

"Since you're new, I will take it easy on you. Please do a dish you are most good at," the teacher continued sweetly, missing the cunning looks the boys gave the girl, who was ignorantly trying to blow her nose with a tissue.

Then noticing that they were still standing there, she added in rather fiercely: "What are you waiting for? An invitation? Go do your stuff!"

"Yes, Madam!" they all squeaked out and rushed to the workbenches to do as instructed.

One hour later, the class was ready for her to sample the dishes they had made.

Jess watched in horror as Miss Jenny shoved a student's plate of food onto the floor with the comment: "I wouldn't feed my dog this kind of trash."

And to another, she dumped the whole plate into the sink with the instruction: "Clear that poison up."

Which was funny, because as horrible comments about the food were dished out, surprise or not, none of the students cried. Instead, every single one of them watched with vacant eyes, neither looking upset nor disheartened.

Finally she came to Quatre's table. The blond swallowed hard and with shaking hands, placed the dish of oven-baked lamb in front of her. Out came the spoon that was used for tasting and then, the lamb was in the teacher's mouth.

There was silence as the class waited with bated breath on the teacher's proclamation on the dish. They watched as she chewed the lamb a bit, eyes looking towards the ceiling thoughtfully, then rolled the lamb around her mouth before chewing again and finally swallowing.

Whether it was voluntarily or not, Quatre swallowed likewise, as if the piece of meat was in his mouth. But that didn't get rid of the lump that had formed in the back of his throat as he waited for the verdict.

The teacher's eyes went back to looking at him with an intensity he couldn't identify. One minute passed, then another. Quatre suddenly found it really difficult to breathe and the lump was slowly but surely moving up his throat, the longer she looked.

"C," she announced finally and moved on to Heero's and Duo's table, letting go of her attention on the blond. Whether it was the enormous relief that rushed back into him the moment she looked away or that he had passed, the blond was forced to make for the sink pronto before he got sick all over himself.

Jess closed her eyes and tried hard not to be sick herself. Meanwhile, Duo wasn't doing so well either. The teacher had just finished tasting a small piece of his pizza and was about to give the grade when the talkative boy cut in: "This is the finest piece of pizza I have made so far. Look at the golden crust, the well-melted cheese, the well stewed sauce, why I say, this thing should deserve a . . ."

"D! Look at the amount of _calories_ that things holds, the _unhealthy filling_ and not to mention, the amount of **fats** you just covered it with!" the teacher proclaimed and left an utterly shocked Duo speechless for once in his entire life.

On seeing that the teacher's attention was on him, Heero went to the drawer to fish out a cup of instant noodles.

The teacher didn't even wait for him to tear off the plastic wrappings. She gave her verdict immediately: "F!" and moved on to the last table: Jess and Wufei's. Jess caught a fleeting glimpse of Heero's annoyed expression before Miss Jenny took up all her attention by standing in front of her.

"What do we have here?" she questioned and Jess promptly moved to the side to reveal her steamed fish and egg. Out came the dreaded spoon again and it dipped gracefully into the side of the dish before finally entering the teacher's mouth. However, the moment it touched Miss Jenny's tongue, without a word, the teacher marched to the sink and spat the food out. An ultimate insult to any cook. She didn't even pause to scrawl anything on the clipboard, choosing instead to turn her attention to Wufei immediately.

"I hope you are not going to give me something like your sister's," she hissed out while wiping her mouth with the edge of her hankie, which she had extracted from within the folds of her heavy, black velvet dress. Looking totally unfazed by this threat, Wufei placed his dish of Sweet and Sour pork in front of the lady and waited patiently at the side as the teacher sampled his fare.

With disbelieve, Jess watched as the teacher's face brightened and then did something she never did the whole time she had been in the class.

She took a second helping.

It seemed this action shocked the rest of the class as well, for they started to whisper among themselves while stealing glances in the teacher's direction.

"Quiet!" she barked and slammed the cane again on the table. The sound vibrated around the class as an instant hush replaced the growing noise, all eyes focused solely on the teacher again.

Miss Jenny waited a minute more to be sure everyone of her students were all ears before continuing: "This girl here, has shown me a level of cooking that surpasses anyone of you lousy, pampered girls. You should do well learning from her, especially you!" she added in, turning her attention on Jess.

Jess gulped and nodded obediently. This attention may be different from the attention Johnson and the gang had paid her, but nonetheless, it was unwanted attention. The old sinking feeling was traveling up her spine again.

Satisfied with her answer, Miss Jenny swirled away on her toes and walked to the front. Then, with a dramatic spin on her heels, she faced the class and ordered: "Class dismissed!"

Without needing a second prompting, the whole class filed out as quickly as possible. Jess heaved a sigh of relief, only to realize that other sighs joined hers as well.

"What was that?!" Duo exclaimed, being the fastest to recover his voice. "Teacher from hell?"

"I don't want to go there any more. Never in my life have I got a _C_ for my cooking," Quatre moaned, looking at the ground in a most upset manner.

"Perhaps because all those grading you happens to be your employees," Wufei muttered under his breath, falling in line with Jess.

"Look on the bright side, Helen got an F," Duo cheerfully consoled, forgetting who he was rooming with that night. Meanwhile, behind the group, Heero was plotting how to connect the electricity from the fence to Duo's bed. Two whole days of "No Duo" was beginning to look really tempting.

"Anyway, I just don't get it. How did you get such a good mark for your cooking?" Quatre asked, suddenly recalling the teacher's unusual praise for Wufei's dish.

The Chinese boy puffed out his chest with pride and answered: "Simple. Get a lousy wife and a lousy cooking partner. They'll work miracles for you."


	58. Serenading

_AN: Chinese New Year is here! Yehhhhhh! Lots of cakes, goodies, sweeties, opps! House cleaning, mopping, shopping, tummy . . . Heck! Lots of cakes, goodies, sweets and a closed eye. Nothing to brighten your day like this! Hope you guys have a great holiday. _

_Sorry can't write to you wonderful reviewers today due to time constraints in the face of the festivities but thanks a bunch for the wonderful reviews. _

_Hope this 9-page chapter makes it up to you._

_Now on with the fic!_

**Chapter 58**

"Best of luck with your mission, _girls_," Doctor G concluded with a gloat, before cutting off the inter-space communication line. Heero's computer went blank for a second before popping out a small window signaling the lost of transmittion.

Moving forwards from his place, Heero deftly shut down his computer by keying in a few commands. Meanwhile, the boys settled down on the beds and couch, awaiting their leader to start the briefing. Only Wufei remained glued to the spot, against the wall. His head still reeling with the last bit of information the good doctor had just imparted a few minutes ago.

"Wufei?" Jess enquired, waving a hand in front of his face.

No response.

Jess blew air into her cheeks and made funny face at him.

Still no response.

'_Hn . . . interesting.'_

"Any one got a marker?" she asked the room in general, without taking her eyes off the frozen boy.

"Permanent or washable?" the ever-receptive-to-mischief boy questioned, holding out two color pens, one black and one red.

"Both are fine. Want to doodle?"

"Count me in." And the two of them set to work, much to the amusement of the other three boys.

Trowa gave Quatre a nudge. If this dragged on, his absence was going to be noticed.

Understanding the worry behind Trowa's eyes, Quatre gave a delicate cough and spoke: "Jess, Dorine, Trowa has another swimming lesson coming up in an hour. He can't give us anymore time."

"I'm just about done," the girl murmured, completing a swirl on the boy's left cheek. Meanwhile, Duo had just finished his sentence on Wufei's forehead and was filling in the exclamation mark.

Quatre tried to hold back his laughter. Apparently, the girl had drawn two black circles around the Chinese boy's eyes as well, giving him a panda look. Duo, with his red marker, had doodled streams of blood from his mouth to his chin. And leaning a little to the side, Quatre could see that the American boy had creatively drawn in what look to be a cross between a bird and iguana on the right side of the cheek.

Satisfied with the result, both teenagers leaned away from the boy to admire their drawing skills.

"Fear me, I'm a killer panda!" Jess questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, it fits the description." And he let the fringe drop back into place.

"I was thinking more like: "I'm in love with Karl" or something like that." the girl commented as they strode away to join the gang at the bedside.

"I don't exactly seeing any heart shapes around."

"That's because the red marker is in your hand!"

"Who is Karl?" Trowa questioned aloud, his curiosity quipped.

Somewhere on the opposite side of the room, an eyebrow twitched.

Duo dropped the marker on the floor and settled himself at Heero's feet.

Letting the air of mystery hang around him for a moment more, he finally answered: "He's the Otheallo guy Doctor G just mentioned, the son of an aristocrat. Do you remember the huge banner placed opposite the swimming pool the other day? He's the one who put it there."

The eyebrow twitched again and then a forefinger.

"You mean the one that proclaimed his love for our Wulin?" the red-haired boy further questioned, startled by this sudden revelation.

Two hands started to ball into fists.

"Yep, yep," the American confirmed, nodding his head wisely. "He-chan helped me dig up some information that day. Not only is he of high status, he's wealthy and his family is highly revered. Want to know what he looks like?"

Meanwhile, a certain someone launched away from the wall and started to stalk forward with determined grit. Its target finally clear. The rest of the boys watched the approaching boy silently.

Sensing a sudden breeze on her back, Jess turned around to look. Two angry, black eyes and flared nostrils greeted her.

'_yip!'_ was her first thought and she dropped her marker while scattering out of his way.

Oblivious to the looming danger, Duo continued his recitation: "He's the one with a cute butt, beautiful grey eyes, brownish-red hair and a charming smile that could make the girls faint. I hear he's quite a legend . . ."

**Bonk!**

"Ouch! Why you do that for?" Duo winced, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head where Wufei's fist had connected. Looking up, he found Wufei towering over him like an avenging angel and swallowed the rest of his words quickly.

"That's for using a _woman's_ words to describe him, that's what. If I recall correctly, he's a really **annoying**,** sick-fantasying,** **self-conceited**, **brat** with an** ego **able to wrap the world twice over!" the boy insinuated before seating himself beside Heero on the bed.

"Well, one thing for sure, he'll stop fantasying when he sees you like this," the girl muttered under her breath. Even with the fringe down, the words "I'm" and "panda" stood out really well underneath.

"What's that!" Wufei had caught a bit of her muttering.

"Nothing . . ." the girl quickly answered, putting on an innocent look before moving to the window seat. After all, this meeting was none of her business.

"First things first," Heero immediately took charge, getting down to the core of things, "From my understanding, G wants us to weasel the password out of him." And his voice dropped to a whisper: "Apparently, Red knights project had a sensitive tech-touch system. Decoders will only put the system on alert and half a second is all you have in-between buttons to input the password correctly."

"So what you're saying, this is the only way, right?" Quatre guessed, swiping back a lock of hair over his shoulder.

The Japanese boy nodded his head solemnly in answer.

"And the only way to get it without risking our identities . . ." And he left the sentence hanging in the air, hinting further with his eyes sliding sideways to look at the Chinese boy, who was putting on his reading glasses.

"What?" Wufei questioned when he noticed the spread of devious smiles on his friends' faces.

"That just leaves you to make it public."

"Huh?" the situation was getting more and more confusing to Wufei. And he didn't like it when his friends started leaning towards him. "What do you mean by public?"

"Oh . . . something like going up to him and saying: "I love you too, Karl! Or "I want to date you!" or . . ."

**Bonk! **

No one had ever seen Wufei moved that fast. One second he was a solid figure on the bed, the next, he was a blur of shadow that solidified behind the American with a fist already past hitting its target.

"Like hell I would!" the boy flared up, two hands going to his friend's throat as he wrestled him to the ground.

"Chill! He hasn't done his side of the bargain!" In his struggle to free himself from his friend's iron grip, Duo let the cat out of the bag.

"Bargain?"

". . . Must . . . Breathe . . ." the American gasp out and took a deep breath as the Chinese lessen his iron hold.

"Start talking," Wufei commanded, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the long-haired boy.

Taking the opportunity, Duo sat up and forced the boy off him. Once sure that the two hands were off and away from his throat, he opened his eyes wide, feigned innocence and brightly asked: "Didn't Quarisa or Weiling tell you?"

"Hey!" two dissatisfied protests sounded.

"Maxwell . . ." the Chinese boy threatened under his breath, refusing to take the bait.

'_Darn!'_

Seeing Duo's sulky look, Quatre took up the responsibility and explained: "They had a talk when you . . ." At that, Quatre's brow creased as he thought hard on an appropriate word for "fainted", which he was quite sure that the Chinese connected it as a woman's weakness. "You were knocked out. You know, things got a little out of hand and . . ."

Suddenly, Quatre realized with a sinking heart, that maybe retelling the events on the behalf of Duo, wasn't such a good idea. Especially when the following details wasn't very favorable towards the teller.

"What do you mean by 'A little out of hand'? Hn . . . ?" Wufei prompted, his patience wearing thin. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied the American trying to sneak off and snagged his skirt.

"Let go. You'll rip my best, maroon skirt!" the boy yipped, trying to pry open the unrelenting fingers.

"That's precisely why I'm not letting go," the Chinese boy returned in kind.

"Nei!" the girl suddenly interrupted, one hand absent-mindedly gesturing to them for their attention. "Is there an event going on at the boy's side?"

With a last yank, Duo freed his skirt, at the expense of ripping the edge. Then he got up and walked over to her side. Secretly thankful for the distraction.

"Not that I know of . . ." he began as he took a glance out the window. Then his mouth dropped open.

"Holy Mackerel! You guys have got to see this!" he gushed out excitedly, without taking his eyes off whatever was so entrancing outside.

"What?" Heero questioned and he too got up and went to the window. Then, he froze on seeing what was beyond.

Duo gave a low whistle.

"Check out those babes . . ."

Exchanging only a brief glance with each other, both Quatre and Trowa made a dash for the window.

"Whatever is the Hoo ha . . . My Goodness!" the blond uttered and clasped a hand over his mouth. Then turning to Wufei, he motioned him to come forward.

Instead the boy snorted and replied: "Believe me, I have no interest in whatever a woman might find interesting. Nor do I have any interest in women!"

"But Karl is there . . ." and there was a certain plead to Quatre's voice in that statement.

Wufei shrugged it off.

"All the more I don't want to see it," he bitterly said, getting up from the bed. "That boy has given me more trouble than I need!"

Meanwhile, Duo was counting under his breath: "Ah one . . . Ah two . . . Ah one, two, three!"

Loud music blasted in from the window, loud enough to wake the dead underground. It was a mix of electric guitar and drums, and Karl's voice was heard belting out the lyrics:

"OH Wuling! I am but a fool!

Darling I love you, though you treat me cruel.

You hurt me, and nearly made me cry.

But if you leave me, I will surely die!

Darling there will never be another you!

Cause I love you so!

Don't ever leave me,

Say you never go . . ." _(Think the song: Oh Carol!)_

Jaws dropped around the room as the music went on and Wuling's name was repeated a few more times. None of them had been expecting that!

"I'll kill him!" Wufei hollered once he was able to make his body work, and he made a big leap for the window. "I'll electrocute his nerves, strip his flesh from his bones, and throw whatever pathetic remains to the dogs!" He pushed both Quatre and Duo out of the way and grabbed the windowsill to leap out.

Both Heero and Trowa rushed forward to restrain the enraged boy.

"Blit!" a startled Heero uttered, receiving a punch in the face for his efforts in trying to pull the struggling boy back into the room. Meanwhile, Trowa had wisely hooked his arms under the boy's armpits and was lifting him off his feet.

"Calm down, Wufei," Quatre desperately cried out from his position on the floor. Then getting up and moving to act as a barrier between the boy and the window, he added: "This is the third floor. You'll break a bone somewhere if you try to pull a stint like that."

"Like hell I will! The one whose bones are going to break is that _'Tra-la-la' _**birdbrain **over there!"

"I think it is romantic," Jess proclaimed with a silly little grin fixed on her face, as she watched the trio across the field giving it their all to win the "lady's" affection.

"You can have him!" Wufei snapped back. Then he extended a toe, as if it would make him any nearer to the window. The foot wiggled for a while, but then it finally stopped when the owner realized how futile his efforts were.

Luckily, the music had stopped. All the people in the room heaved a sigh of relief and Trowa loosen his hold on the boy.

Meanwhile, Duo disappeared out the doorway.

The quarrel temporary forgotten.

* * *

"You sure she heard me?" Karl questioned his friends, cocking an uncertain eyebrow in the direction of St Hilary School.

Ronald wiggled a finger in his ear and decided he was indeed too near the amplifiers.

"Definitely," David agreed, nodding his head. "Look at all the heads popping out of the windows!" Then he caught his friend frowning deeply.

"What?"

"You sure?"

"Of course!"

"I don't know . . ."

"Anyone who can't hear this super sonic loudspeaker amplifiers either have to be in a sound-proof room or deaf," Ronald interjected solemnly, flicking a piece of earwax to the ground. Next time, he must remember **ear plugs** if he was ever going to do this again! "Besides, with this amount of attention, someone is sure to tell her even if she doesn't hear it."

Karl heaved a sigh of regret and then brought the microphone to his mouth for one last try.

"Karl loves Wulin! Be my girl!"

* * *

If idiots were suppose to be only a handful on each planet, the boys had to admit the school opposite had an uncanny knack for attracting quite a sizeable amount.

Heero and Trowa immediately leapt into action, wrestling Wufei to the ground as he screamed a blood-chilling war cry.

"Close the window!" Quatre desperately squealed at Jess as he made a jump for Wufei's legs. Least the boy thought of using his techniques on his two friends.

"Where is Duo!" A frustrated Heero shouted out to the room in general, his face wet with perspiration. "This is his fault to begin with!"

"Now, I'm sure he meant it with good intentions . . ."

"Like hell he did! The day he does that is the day Armageddon has arrived!"

". . . Hn."

"Trowa!" Quatre chided the red-head for agreeing.

" . . ."

Restraining Wufei was not easy. The boy was now trying to paralyze them all. Heero moved awkwardly to avoid a flailing hand from touching him while trying his best to keep Wufei pinned to the ground.

Then a hand extended a coil of rope. Looking up with surprise, Duo's face came into view.

"Room service?" The boy joked and started binding the hands behind the Chinese boy's back.

Once sure Wufei was securely tied up, the boys relaxed; each collapsing onto the floor in a sprawled manner.

"Let me go this instant!" the Chinese demanded, wiggling here and there, but to no avail. "I want to kill that . . . that . . . **_jerk!_**"

Cracking an eyelid open, Duo commented: "I never thought I'll ever say this, but he's beginning to sound like a frustrated female."

"And you American, is about to become instant sushi when I get out," the boy threatened, much to the amusement of the addressed party, who stuck out a tongue in cheeky reply.

"Leave the poor man alone," Heero ordered, none too happy about the ordeal he just went through thanks to a certain someone in the first place. "Especially when you were the one who made the pact."

"What pact?" Wufei was suddenly very alert. With Maxwell, anything was possible.

"Oh that you like guys who announce their love for you to the whole school and such," the brown-haired boy breezily answered, sitting up and fanning himself with a hand. "Frankly, I am quite surprised he took it this far."

If embarrassment could kill, Wufei would have expired on the spot.

"Maxwell!" He screamed and in his anger, broke every single round of rope. The rest ogled in amazement.

"Wow . . ." Duo breathed and then he was on his feet and running. Wufei close on his heels, swinging a flat round object, which he took out from underneath his skirt.

All remaining eyes in the room turned to focus on the girl in question.

Jess gave a weak smile before answering: "Saucepan of Justice. The sword simply isn't allowed here."

* * *

Next door, a girl pulled away from the wall with a satisfied smile lightly gracing her lips. Finally, after a week of intense listening, she was rewarded.

Sweeping her long, blond hair over her shoulder, she got up from her bed and got ready for her next lesson.


	59. Meeting three

AN: Sorry people that this chapter took such a long time in coming. I had mock exams which just ended today. I hope this chapter meets your expectations.

_To my diligent, sweet reviewers: cherryblossoms21, Bunny, x-digitalangel-x, Raizard333, Kuria, Chikara-Yuy, Ybewd, Magicia wiseskill, Shini no Tenshi and Iris. Thanks for sticking with me all the way._

_And welcome to the new reviewers: Crimson Shinigami-16, Frankie the Spunky One, MysticChoas, Candy-animelover600, Lil'pineapple, BluephoenixX, Nicole and Alana 12. Hope you will enjoy the chapters to come. _

_On with the fic!_

Chapter 59 

The day of reckoning finally arrived . . . for Wufei again.

"This is not what I asked for," he grouched to his "sister". Whether it was her insignificant brain matter or that he had grumbled one too many times to her, she continued combing his hair until she was satisfied it was perfect.

Giving his glasses back to him, she motioned him to get off the chair.

"Did you even listen to a word I said?" he demanded as he complied with her request.

"Hm . . ." she returned in a vague kind of way as she pulled out the dresser drawers, rummaging through it for something.

"Oh really? What did I say?" he baited her, folding his arms and giving her back a skeptical look. What he had finally learned, after rooming with her for three whole weeks, that it didn't matter whether she saw it or not. The girl simply ignored everything.

He watched as she finally found what she was looking for before straightening up. Then, with amazing speed, she span around and caught his chin in her hand.

"This!" she replied gleefully, and before he could register what she meant, she was clasping his cheeks tightly in one hand and applying lipstick on his lips with the other.

"Yyaaaarrhhhh!" he screeched for the first time in his life, as he yanked his face out of her grip. His hands immediately went up to wipe off the offending trademark of a woman.

"Stop right there, buster!" her order froze his hands from carrying out their intention. "You stain those gloves, and so help me, I'll be giving you the full makeover instead!"

"You put blusher and lipstick on me and you don't call that the entire makeover!"

The girl blinked at him in solemnity and answered: "Nope. Besides, the blusher and lipstick are only light pink, barely visible at all."

Half dreading what he was going to hear but nonetheless curious, he asked: "What **is **the full makeover?"

"Let's see, because you are pretty fair with good skin, Foundation and bronzer would give you more color and define your features more. Eyelash curler and mascara would give you longer lashes, Eyeliner to make your eyes look bigger and brighter, eye-shadow that will help highlight your unique upward slit eyes, two colors at least . . ."

"Stop!" he shouted, clasping his hands over his ears in agony. On his planet, the only things that ever occupied a woman's bathroom were simply soap and a towel. None of the extra, face-highlighting stuff he was hearing today.

"But I'm only halfway through," he vaguely heard the girl protest and waved a hand in dismissal.

"Fine, fine," he conceded his defeat, sitting on the bed, "the lipstick and blusher stays."

"Okie," she agreed and went back to the dresser to start her own beautification.

Then the door burst open for the umpteen time, revealing Duo. This time with two ladies' bags in his hands.

"Which one matches my dress? This green satin pouch or this green cotton handbag?" he asked on latching his eyes on Jess. He wore a green spaghetti dress with white lace hem and matching green ribbon shoes.

The girl paused in her application of blusher and gave the brunette the once over.

"The green handbag," she concluded before adding in: "you might want to wear that green summer wide-brim hat to complete the outfit."

"Thanks!" the boy cheerful called over his shoulder before bouncing out the door. "And nice shade of lipstick there, Wuling!"

"Gggrrr!" Wufei growled under his breath, not at all pleased with Duo's parting words.

"I swear, if _"she"_ comes in one more time, asking for your advice on what to wear . . ."

"You do nothing," Jess interrupted, placing the blusher down. Picking up a cute white tapered hat, she proceeded to dump it on his head. "You're guilty likewise."

"Excuse me, but if I recall correctly, it was you who insisted I wear this outfit!" the boy thundered, getting up to look her full in the face. Jess took a step back to scrutinize her work.

The white ankle-long cotton dress, with gentle pink ribbons for the hem and belt, flattered the fairness of the boy's skin and contrasted well with his jet-black hair. The matching tapered hat, with matching light pink ribbon running round the base, completed the outfit. The light pink hair band Jess had so painstakingly placed, artfully allowed tendrils of hair to fall forward to cover the boy's jawline, framing an intelligent yet angelic face.

If Jess didn't know what an arrogant, short-tempered, male-chauvinistic pig that he really was, she would have assumed the exact opposite temperament on first sight. But then, first sight deception was exactly what she was aiming for, so her mission was more or less complete. Jess turned around and started walking back to the dresser.

"I don't understand why I have to dress so pretty," the Chinese boy complained to her back, following her to the dresser. "My intention is to drive him off. Not attract him."

"Wrong; you attract, **THEN** scare," Jess corrected, seating herself comfortably in front of the mirror. Picking up her hairbrush, she continued: "All you have do is get him to give us the password first, then just be yourself."

"You sure?" The skeptical look was back on his face.

"**_Positively!_**" she answered, flashing him her brightest smile.

'_Because once he gets to know you, he'll run. As far as his legs can carry him,'_ a small voice in her head answered the hanging question.

"Uh huh. Righhhttt . . ." Despite disbelieving her words, the Chinese boy left it as such and returned to the bed.

Jess ignored his last comment and concentrated on getting every single strand of hair tied neatly into a ponytail. Unlike her "sister's" outfit, she wore a simple white blouse and light blue skirt, which was held in place by a slim black belt with a slender silver buckle.

In the mirror, a simple ordinary-looking girl stared back at her. Somewhat depressing compared to the image the other boys were projecting forth. But one thing for sure, she wouldn't be stealing the show from the main "actress" today.

And seeing that there was still a bit of time left, for a brief moment, she allowed herself a small spurt of fantasy.

_'Maybe, if they decide to look at me just a little longer . . . Maybe they would find me a little pretty or at most, charming – in a quiet sort of way . . .'_

A loud snore coming from the direction of the bed brought her fantasy to an end. Looking up, through the reflection of the mirror, she saw Wufei lying spread angled on the bed, the hat lying forgotten on the floor while the hair band clasped in his hand. All her hours of hard work, ruined in a moment of neglect.

Jess sighed and buried her face into her hands. Like the sleeping boy, her situation certainly left much to be desired.

* * *

"Ok, run it by me why we're accompanying him?" David whispered to Ronald from the corner of his mouth. Ronald rolled his emerald green eyes sky-upwards and sighed. His friend could've spared himself the effort. It was highly unlikely (even if a bomb exploded) Karl would have heard anything. Apparently, his childhood friend was walking on cloud nine and it would be some time before he came down again. 

"We're accompanying him because he have managed to write a wonderful 9 page sonnet, dedicated entirely to this Miss Wuling, and needs us to prompt him when he forgets."

"So that explains why I never saw such a poem before . . ." his companion mused, placing slim long fingers to his chin thoughtfully. Under the morning light, David's wind-swept brown hair turned a little golden, making him look a mixture between an Adonis god and a roguish devil of a man.

"So what's the time of the meeting?"

"1pm," came the unhappy answer.

"What! It is only 10am now!"

"You tell that to him," Ronald rebutted, dragging his feet a little. "I have never woken up at 6am in the morning before in my entire life! To think I only got to go to bed at 1am last night because a certain somebody couldn't get the worries out of his head . . ."

"You gave him chocolate, didn't you?" his friend questioned, looking at him accusingly.

"No! I spiked his drink with a sleeping drug. I am not so stupid as to give him an anti-depressant packed with so much carbohydrate. Only God knows how he managed to get over the effects of the 12 hour drug and still have so much energy."

David ogled at the leader who was now skipping along happily ahead of them.

"Is . . . is this what they call . . . the **power of love**?"

"Try infatuation," Ronald countered, and they picked up their pace to catch up with Karl.

* * *

Finally, all five of them were ready. 

"Why do we have to get out so early? It's only twelve pm. The date isn't till one." Jess complained, hobbling along because her new shoes were pinching her toes. They were walking to town partly because Heero decided that the fifteen minutes walk would be good for their health, and partly because he forgot to arrange for transport.

Meanwhile, Wufei glared hard at her from in front.

"I would appreciate it if you **stop** calling this mission a _date_. Not only is it grating on my ears but on my nerves as well."

"A date is a date. No changing that fact," Duo cheerily defended the girl and hurriedly skipped in front, keeping out of range from Wufei's swinging hat.

A dainty white-lace gloved hand extended out in front of Jess. Looking up, she found Quatre smiling gently down at her, the lace umbrella the young boy was holding partially sheltering her.

"Ignore them," he said as she took his hand and leaned half her weight on him. The shelter of the umbrella was a welcoming change from the searing afternoon sun. "The reason why Helen wants us to go so early is to check out the area for escape routes. You know, ditch the boys as quickly as possible."

"Ahhh . . . this doesn't happen to cover dirty alleyways and going through sewage tunnels, does it?"

Sensing her worry, Quatre raised an eyebrow at her. "What is it you're afraid of?"

"Oh, nothing," the girl answered, giving him a watery smile, "Just that all the clothes I bought are handmade, pretty expensive and it really seem to be a waste if we have to ruin them . . ." And her eyes traveled down to gaze at the white lace and satin full length dress with satin slash and layered lace sleeves the Arab wore. The gaze ended on the matching satin beaded shoes.

Quatre gave her a reassuring smile and replied: "I will try hard to keep clean."

"It's not only you," the girl added, frowning a little. Her attention shifted to look at the other boys except Heero, who was dressed normally with the exception of the ridiculous red-polka dot ribbon on his head.

"Then I will let Heero know."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"Uh oh."

"Um?"

* * *

Karl decided today was indeed his lucky day. The moment he had the flowers in hand and a big heart-shape box of chocolates in the other, the lady of his dreams was standing in front of him. 

Without giving her a second to blink, Karl dumped the whole load on her and was on his knees, clutching one of her dainty, white-gloved hand while the other hand was placed over his heart.

"My darling," he said, feeling confident on seeing that she was here early as well. "Let me recite this sonnet I specially composed for you."

* * *

The moment they had stepped into town, all plans to survey it went down the drain. 

On passing the very first shop, the trio stepped out. One smiling as brightly as the sun, since it was his date after all; the other two flanking his side with bored looks on their faces.

Before Wufei could even fathom how the heck the moron managed to anticipate their supposedly unexpected arrival, he found himself struggling to hold a whole bouquet of red roses and a large box of chocolate with one hand while the idiot tugged on the other.

His companions, meanwhile, looked highly amused. Hiding their smiles behind handkerchiefs, fans and for his sister, her hand.

Then he heard the word "sonnet" and decided that he was desperately in need of help.

"Have you met my sister?" he quipped, latching on to the first idea that popped into his head. Quickly, he pulled his hand out of the other guy's grip and shoved his load onto Duo, since it was his fault he was in this situation.

Moving behind each one of them, he introduced: "This is Helen, Dorine, Quarisa and Weiling. Her nickname is Jess by the way."

Regaining his composure, Karl gamely followed and introduced his own gang: "A pleasure to meet you all. This is Ronald and David. You can call Ronald, Ron for short. He's my childhood friend. David's nickname is Dave."

Meanwhile, David couldn't take his eyes off Quarisa. She was like a dream turned reality. Long blond golden hair, large doe-like eyes as blue as the clear sky and a lovely petite body to go with it all. The kind of girl David read in fairytales, whom was a princess awaiting for her knight in shining amour to rescue her. Just looking at such a fragile, gentle creature, standing there under her lovely white umbrella, too dainty to be real, David felt the age-old urge of men to protect rise up in him.

"I think I found her," he half whispered to nobody in general.

"Pardon?" Ronald heard his friend's mumbling.

"I found her. The one I have been looking for. My princess."

"Which one?" Ronald half-heartedly asked, frowning a little as he watched his childhood friend catch hold of the Wuling girl's hand and attempt to recite the sonnet again in broad daylight, in the middle of the busy street. To his embarrassment, he noted they were attracting quite a large crowd.

"The one called Quarisa. The blond one," came his friend's excited answer and reluctantly, Ronald teared his eyes away to look upon the one called Quarisa. His eyes took a brief glance at the blond and decided she wasn't to his liking.

_'Too fragile looking. Most likely spoilt her whole life,'_ he concluded before his eyes alighted upon a more unique, sturdy type of beauty. It wasn't that she looked outstandingly beautiful, but there was a certain charm and prettiness about her. And those purple-violet eyes certainly added depth to that undercurrent strength in her prominent looks. And as his gaze traveled down, he was pleased to see a more defined, well-toned physique, unlike the sickly-white, stick-thin, fragile limbs common at St Hilary.

Meanwhile, the object of his childhood friend's admiration was looking stricken as the crowds thicken around them. She obviously wasn't enjoying one minute of the attention she was getting from all sides. Seeing that he was looking at her, she gave him a pleading look. At least what he thought was a pleading look, which was hard to determine since she was blushing so hard.

"Come on Karl, you can finish up later," He interjected on the girl's behalf. The girl, in response, nodded her head vigorously. "Our reservation may be cancelled if we don't go now."

"But I'm only at _'you are the light, that shines upon the sea in my soul, the water that quenches my thirsting heart'_," his friend winced in protest, but nonetheless, he got up and made a move in the direction of the Rose-red Restaurant.

"You can save it for later," David returned and Jess suddenly found herself without her pillar of support. Whisked away in moment by the brown-haired, blue-eyed devil that they called David. She tittered for a moment undecidingly before leaning heavily to the right.

Meanwhile, Wufei was exclaiming to the person dragging him to lunch: "I can't go without my sister!"

"Don't worry, she's invited," came the confident response.

"She's injured, her feet has some problem," Jess heard him say and decided that when Wufei got into range, she was going to hammer him flat for feigning ignorance earlier when her trouble started.

"So which one is she?" And the person turned back to survey the little group of people.

"The one with hair as black as mine. Duh!"

"Sister-in-law!" Karl proclaimed as he approached the girl at the back, his eyes alight with delight. Jess watched in horror as the guy got closer and closer, arms thrown wide open to embrace her.

But that was not to come to pass. She suddenly found herself hauled up against a familiar figure. Wufei had his arms warped around her as tightly as he could hold, cheek to cheek, shoulder to shoulder, waist to waist, with a most fearsome, possessive look on his face.

"Don't touch her!" he barked out at the shocked boy.


	60. Lunch Date

_AN: Okay, I probably gonna do the disappearing act again because my finals for university is around the corner and I can't write anymore. Just to make up to you lovable readers, this chapter is about 10 pages long. _

_To my faithful and long suffering reviewers: Kuria, MysticChaos, Raizard333, Frankie the Spunky One, Bunny, cherryblossoms21, Nicole, madcow, SAGA123, DreamKeeper, Moon Fighter, Chikara-Yuy, haguregumo and x-digitalangel-x! Thanks for always bringing a smile to my face with your sincere, kind reviews._

_Greetings to the new ones: Kia-kitsune-8, Hallahello and Fox&Badger! I hope you will enjoy the future chapters to come._

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 60**

"Don't touch her!" Wufei shouted at the shocked boy, drawing curious looks from the dispersing crowd.

"And why not?" asked a perplexed Karl, wondering why his beloved was acting so weird.

At that, Wufei's mind drew a blank.

'_Come on . . . think!' _he silently urged his mind to work harder. However, it started to spin the harder he thought, leaving him with no option but to take a leaf out of what he usually heard about himself.

"She . . . she . . . doesn't like men!"

"**_Excuse me?_**" This time, the question came from the girl he held against his side.

Deciding he would be safer working on a besotted mind than one who knew behind the scenes, he let her go and proceeded to draw the guy over to one side. Then speaking in a stage whisper, loud enough for everyone in walking distance to hear, he said: "She's a bit mental. She has this kind of reflex that makes her hit whatever gets too close to her. Especially if it's male."

"Really?" and Karl gave her a once over before adding: "that's quite unbelievable. She looks like a nice person."

Meanwhile, Jess was pondering on what method she would use to skewer her "sister" the minute they returned to the dormitory.

'_How **dare** he call me a guy-hater! If I'm one, what is he? The ultimate Casanova?'_ she fumed as she balled her hands into fists at her side. Lucky for her, the folds of her skirt hid her displeasure from the others.

While this was running through her mind, Wufei was continuing: "Well, believe it. Looks can be quite deceiving."

'_Talk about the kettle calling the pot black,'_ Jess thought, feeling indignation course right through her body. Fancy her being labeled as deceiving when it so aptly described the person speaking instead. If this wasn't ironic, Jess didn't know what was.

"Oh Jess . . ." Wufei suddenly called out to her in a sickly, sweet voice. An indication that he needed her to do something for him.

"What?" she responded in kind but not feeling the least bit indulgent.

"You remember that male rabbit we use to have before you killed it? "

"Oh yes," she returned in the same sickly, sweet tones used by her "sister", throwing in a smile too. "How could I forget such a name? We called him **Wufei! **But you can't blame me for killing him. He was such a **_stupid_, arrogant, no-good-for-nothing, fat **rabbit. Just remembering him still makes me want to give his _fat_, **over-blown** rear a good **kick**! If possible, to the furthest end of the universe!"

If human emotions could control the weather, no doubt it'll be hailing fire and ice right now, for the expression on Chang Wufei's face was far from being amused. In fact, it was as black as thunder. Jess allowed the smirk of victory to show on her face and took great satisfaction in seeing Wufei's right eyebrow twitch with irritation.

At Wufei's side, some shivers traveled down Karl's spine on seeing the eerily smile appear on the girl's lips. If anything, it resembled more of a tiger bearing it fangs than just a simple case of being mental.

Duo, for once seeing where this was going, moved forward to intervene. After all, the usual peacemaker had both his hands busy trying to pry himself loose from his newfound admirer, without being impolite.

"Wuling is such a _protective_ sister," he explained, swiftly dumping the bouquet of roses into Heero's arms and stepping in between the staring match, "She's worried that her sister may disgrace herself publicly." Mentally, he noted both chest hairs and the fine hairs at the back of his head started to prick and stand. Apparently, the invisible electricity sparks could go right through him.

"In fact, if one of us isn't around to look after her," he continued, side-stepping out of the path, "your girl just ends up sticking to her like glue."

"_Oh is that so?"_ Jess and Wufei, in unison, icily questioned. This time the sparks of electricity didn't go right through him. They were aimed at him.

"Don't worry Wuling, your sister is safe with me," Duo carried on his charade, grabbing Jess's arm and pulling her close to his side, ignoring the slight resistance the girl put up and the frozen feeling that was starting to penetrate his skull from all their glaring. If they continued, their covers were going to be blown! "I'm hungry. Is it the Rose-red Restaurant we're heading for?"

That seemed to work, for the boy gave a start and then to Wufei's surprise, grabbed him and started blabbering about some excellent dishes served there. Meanwhile, Duo and Heero breathed a silent sigh of relief and proceeded to follow.

A sudden jerk on his arm reminded Duo there were still some unsolved issues left and with resignation, he braced himself for a confrontation.

Turning his head slowly to face the girl, he was greeted with a very sour look from her.

"Now, Jess . . . ," he started with a gentle, soothing voice, but that was as far as he got. He suddenly found himself pulled away and forced to look upon a face with striking green eyes, fair complexion and neatly combed black hair with fringe that fell neatly down the forehead.

"Dorine, I presume?" the stranger asked, smiling an entrancing smile and tucking his hand into the crook of his arm while taking charge of the box of chocolates with the other. "May I have the honor of escorting you?"

Looking back over his shoulder at the fuming girl, Duo made his choice.

"Helen, I'm entrusting her to you," he breezily called back as he made off with the stranger. Ignoring the fact that he had now two supposedly, furious females glaring after him. After all, he could deal with Heero easily. As for the girl, that was Heero's problem now.

'_Why that little . . . !'_

"Walk."

"Pardon?" Heero's abrupt command had taken her by surprise.

"Walk if you want revenge. The faster the better," came the stony reply, bringing a smile back to Jess's lips.

With a nod, she answered: "That, I can do."

* * *

When they had finally reached the restaurant, Jess was not at all pleased to find herself seated next to Wufei. With the Otheallo guy leaning so much towards him, she found herself with the option to either let Wufei lean on her entirely or fall off the edge of her seat. None of it to her liking, of course.

"_So my sunshine, light of my heart_," Karl recited, capturing Wuling's hand and placing it over his heart, "_leave me not in this lonely darkness._"

"Grakt!" Wufei uttered, backing as far back as he could go. "Can't you save it for someone else more worthy?"

"Or until we have finished lunch?" Jess added in, pushing Wufei's back with all her might. If the boy leaned any further back, she was in danger of becoming his back rest and loosing whatever maiden value she had managed to salvage so far for the past three weeks.

Out of the corner of her eye, Jess spied her usual savior having problems of his own. Quatre was trying to look calm, but that was an almost impossible task with his admirer refusing to let his hands go, even for the menu! The only one who seemed to be truly enjoying himself was Duo. It appeared, of the three guys, this was the least pushy and most generous, without being too overbearing or overwhelming. Jess suddenly wished she could trade places with Duo. The Ronald person seemed like a reasonable guy and he wasn't bad-looking to boot.

"Stop leaning back! You're squashing me!" she hissed into her "sister's" ear.

"Then you tell him to let my hand go and give me space to breathe! I'm suffocating here!" came the retort.

"That's your problem. Don't drag me into this."

"Well, my problem is your problem "_sister dear_". Either you help me get out of this situation or you can live with it."

Deciding she had enough, Jess gave Wufei a mighty shove.

"I choose to live with it!" she announced, sending the unsuspecting boy hurling face forward into the chest of the one he despised. Seeing his love was within his grasp, Karl took the opportunity to drop both hands around the girl's shoulders, clasping her tightly to his chest.

"MMmhMMmm! MmdiM mime moUm!" (Someone! Get me out!)

"What did she say?"

"She likes your sonnet."

"MemeIemm! Meiem am meie mam mameim mieime mey!" (Woman! That's a lie and you know it!)

"She wants you to continue your recitation.

"Moum mar meam mmae mame ar amme moum mor mmer!" (You are dead meat when I get out of here!)

"Don't let her go until you have finished your sonnet.

"Mtam Mei! Moum mar ma Mamon!" (That's it! You are a goner!)

"Oh wow. Love your armpit smell."

"Seriously?" Karl's eyes popped wide open on hearing something so unexpected. But then, as if on an off-hand suspicion, he asked: "You can understand what your sister is saying?"

"Me and my sister share some telepathic thing. It's a gift since childhood because our mother died young and our stepmother didn't like us very much." And somewhere at the back of her mind, Jess admitted to herself: _'I'm getting very good at this . . .'_

"Oh . . . I'm terribly sorry to hear that."

"It's ok. We're used to it. So how much more do you have to recite?"

"Hm . . . 6 more pages to be exact."

"Mmmmm! Msamon mheam Mmi!" (What! Someone help me!)

"What did she say?"

"Really! Take your time! She wants you to pronounce it _slowly_ and **clearly**."

"nnmmmmmmm!" (Nnnnooooo!)

"Yyyyeesssss!"

"Thank you," the boy said, trying his best to put across his heart-felt sincerity and gratitude.

"Oh, you're welcome," Jess answered, letting two perfect sets of white teeth flash at the potential boyfriend of her "sister". If anything, she was starting to like this person more and more.

* * *

By the time Karl had finished the remaining pages of his sonnet, they were all halfway through their meal. Quatre had suddenly discovered the usefulness of a ladies toilet for disengaging hands with an unwelcome clinger. Heero had managed to threaten Duo into paying for his meal, which the happy-go-lucky brunette took the opportunity to get Ronald to foot all of it.

Jess, on the other hand, was pretty much covered by her "sister's" admirer. After all she was the _"darling"_ sister of whom the guy was trying so hard to get. And when the sonnet came to an end, Wufei all but fainted on the seat with a mutter: " . . . Air . . . Finally . . ." Much to the satisfaction of one and the dismay of the other.

"Speak to me, my love!" Karl desperately cried out, trying his best to hold her up and prevent her from sliding underneath the table. But the girl remained silent with her eyes rolled upwards.

Munching on a piece of lettuce, Jess contemplated the knocked out boy. The eyes were still open, meaning he was still conscious. Despite lying limp against the supporting hands, Jess could detect a slight twitching of the fingers. Indicating Wufei was still in reality despite the last half-hour deprivation of pure air.

Creasing her forehead as she thought hard, Jess finally hit upon the reason as to why the boy was faking fainting.

'_Oh! Throw a damper on our plans, woud ya?'_ she angrily thought, stuffing the rest of the lettuce into her mouth. _'Well Wuling Lee, you're about to find out your "sister" Weiling is no pushover for you to hand over your dirty work!'_

"What do I do? What do I do?" the frantic boy asked as she clasped his shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't worry. She just so ecstatic to be close to you." Meanwhile, Jess spied the hand closest to her, curl into a fist.

"In fact, we get this a lot," she continued in a matter-of-fact voice, ignoring the sudden dark aura that started to emanate from the pone figure. "And there is a simple remedy for this."

"Really?"

"Yup!" she cheerfully replied, realizing that the people around the table had grown silent and were waiting patiently to hear what the miracle cure was. "It's CPR!"

Almost instantaneously, Wufei sat up; eyes clear, color back in his cheeks and repositioning his glasses on his nose as if the previous event hadn't occurred. They watched as he calmly picked up his fork and knife and started attacking the lobster on his plate.

"Wha . . ." came the stunned response from an equally stunned boy, whose fingers now were clutching air when only a few seconds ago, held the still body of his beloved.

"My sister is such a joker," Jess explained while Duo broke into pearls of laughter. "She likes to make everyone worry."

In response, the subject of conversation gave a rude snort and continued eating.

* * *

When lunch was over, all four of them were on the verge of panic, because Wufei was not in the mood for talking and their mission was far from completion. Given the turn of events, none of them could really blame the boy, especially when it wasn't in his interest to play such a role.

So when the chance came where the gentlemen left to pay for the meal, they all crowded around Wufei.

"Come on, do your thing!" Quatre desperately pleaded, almost tempted to go down on his knees in front of the proud boy.

"Misery loves company," came the uncaring answer. And he really did look miserable when he said that.

"This would have been much easier if he liked Dorine," Jess lamented, letting go of a heartfelt sigh. "She would have gotten things done by the time lunch was finished."

"Yes, and lunch would taken three hours later to end given his appetite," Heero accused, looking at the boy with displeasure.

"Hey! I cut down on ordering the beef steak and mango pudding with vanilla ice-cream!"

"Compared to the fact you ordered half the menu, I'll say that is hardly a big sacrifice."

Meanwhile, at the cashier, the boys were discussing on the same subject.

"I just don't understand what you see in that Dorine girl, Ron. She's like . . . like a bottomless pit or something. Only God knows where she stores her food." David commented as he watched his friend pay for his date and sister's share of food.

In return, he got the iciest green-eyed glare from his friend.

"What? What did I say?" David protested, still clueless as to why that comment triggered such an extreme response.

"I happen to like women with a good appetite, if you don't mind. And she didn't shy away from me like your girl. She hardly touched anything on her plate."

"Excuse me but my girl happen to be a delicate, fragile flower. It is natural that real princesses don't finish their food."

"More like you killed her appetite," his friend remarked before leaving the cashier.

"Can you believe him?" David sought comfort from his only other friend. "He's like gone and flip when he laid eyes on this girl.

"I still think my date is the best. She finished everything," came the dreamlike answer. And with it, a dreamlike blank stare into space.

David gave up and decided he might as well join them since he couldn't beat them.

On seeing one of the boys approaching, the panic level went up.

"Quick! Think of something. We can't let this date end yet!" Heero urgently urged, as his mind registered who was approaching. "Dorine, get out there and intercept him!"

"Me?"

"You defying my orders?"

Immediately, Duo faked innocence and went up to the boy speaking: "Oh, there you are! I just want to thank you for the wonderful meal we had just now." Behind them, the rest gave a sigh of regret. Things would have been much easier if Karl's attention had been on Duo.

"How about the movies?" Quatre brightly suggested, remembering that this was one of the activities when on dates.

"No good, you can't talk," Jess rejected, recalling the rules when in a theatre. "Oh, that Dave guy is coming." On hearing that, Heero looked at Quatre and jerked a thumb in the David guy's direction.

"Do I have to?" the blond winced but without much further ado, he went out to greet him.

"A walk around town would be good. They can talk while window shopping," Jess quickly suggested, looking at Wufei with pleading in her eyes. The Chinese boy looked away with contempt, refusing to meet her silent demand.

"I don't do window shopping. That's a woman's pastime."

"But you're . . ."

To her surprise, Heero shot down her argument by saying: "Too many people. There'll be too many witnesses. We need somewhere deserted."

"Deserted?" Jess repeated, frowning a little.

"Yes. Darn it, he's here."

"A park!"

"Excuse me?" The two boys were taken aback by this sudden and unusual exclamation out of nowhere.

"Just follow my lead. After all, don't forget who is the leader here."

"I shudder to think," came the parting reply as Jess hurried forward to speak to Karl.

* * *

"A walk in the park?" Karl asked, pleasantly surprised that the girl was willing to get on to the next level. During lunch, he formed the impression that she was more of the slow, sturdy type where if things were rushed, he would lose whatever little impression he had made on her.

"As you can see . . ." And with some effort, Jess managed to pull the reluctant Wufei in front of them. "She is rather shy to some extent. She is still uncomfortable since she doesn't know you too well."

"Well . . . I guess some exercise after lunch is good for the body . . ." the boy relented, secretly rejoicing when the girl took the arm he offered to her. Looks like he still has a chance after all. "Will you be joining us?"

"Of course," came the immediate confident answer, shocking him mildly. "In fact, all of us are."

With a sinking heart, he watched as the girl waved to encompass the whole gang. But guessing his thoughts accurately, his childhood friend said as he went pass him: "Don't worry. We'll walk _real_ slow."

"Just don't ruin it," whispered the other and they were out through the door, heading for the park with their respective partners in tow.

Looking down at the lone girl, Karl was about to offer her his other arm when the girl reached out and pulled the other companion, that really resembled a young boy, to her side. The words of his beloved came hauntingly back into his mind: _'she doesn't like men,'_ and he quickly turned to go, shivering as he did. Mentally giving thanks to the Lord above in escaping a hidden danger and nearly missing the look of anger that crossed Relena Darlian's face from the table behind theirs.

As he walked out the door, his last thought was: _'what is she so angry about? And why was she scrutinizing the brown-haired girl throughout the meal?' _Then he brushed aside the disturbing thought and tuned his attention to the lady walking by his side.

_Author's Proclamation: I will be gone for about two months. You will see me around late June, early July. Sorry about that but Mom says studies come first, especially this last year. Take care and see you till then. _


	61. Confrontation

_AN: YIIIIPPPIIIIIEEEEEEE! I am now unofficially graduated! Here is the next chapter. Hope you guys enjoy it. No names because after this I have to do some desk cleaning. Yuck! Sorry about that people. But now that I'm back, you can expect some genuine effort in writing. _

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 61**

The walk would have been a success if there weren't a few unanticipated problems.

Problem no 1: Relena Dorian turned up.

Problem no 2: She tried to blow open their covers.

Problem no 3: Jess was insulted and lost her temper, which wasn't good.

While hiding behind Ronald's back, Duo considered interfering with this obvious tussle between females. But then, remembering that Relena had seen his face before, it was the last thing Duo wanted his meal ticket to discover before he managed to milk the guy for a couple more free meals.

Meanwhile, Quatre was nowhere to be seen with his date. Apparently being dragged down a different route for privacy purposes. Duo tried hard not to snigger as he thought of what the polite blond would resort to if his date tried to make a move on him. One thing that he knew about Quatre's defense skills, besides fencing, was that he was good at boxing. Something that he and his butler did on alternate days of the week when he was home.

'_And man, could that little guy punch,' _Duo thought as he rubbed his chin where Quatre once delivered a blow in frustration when he ruined dinner by switching the soya sauce's label with the black vinegar's.

Taking a quick glance from the corner of his eyes, Duo spied Wufei doing the same thing as him. The expression on his face exactly reflecting what he was feeling. The big question on whether to interfere or not.

However this was Relena Dorian they were looking at, Heero's love interest and apparently now Jess's "love rival" as well. And come to think of it, Duo had a hunch Heero knew of Relena's presence before they even came to the school. It definitely explained why he would suddenly look up to peer through the doorway only to quickly bend his head down to let tendrils of hair cover his face during class.

Meanwhile, the quarrel had escalated to a shouting match.

"Get your filthy hands off my boyfriend, you B!" he heard the prim and proper girl scream at Jess. That was an eye opener. Even Duo had never dreamed in his life that Relena had that kind of vocabulary.

"What boyfriend!" the girl shrieked back, clutching onto Heero's neck possessively. Duo was satisfied to see the usually stone-faced boy lose his calm and stick a tongue out from the sudden yank on his windpipe. "This is Helen. My NEIGHOUR. She's my **girlfriend!**"

At that, they were all treated to a wonderful display of colors as Relena's face turned a slight shade of pink, to purple and finally sea green as she took in what her opponent was implying. Likewise, the girl wasn't holding up her smirk very well, realizing herself what she was saying to the other. Heero, on the other hand, didn't look very pleased with the situation either. He only had two options. To lose his identity and come clean with his loved one (and possibly die a really gruesome death) or continue playing the lesbian role the girl had brainlessly dumped on him.

Apparently he decided deceiving Relena was healthier than revealing his true identity. Looping an arm around the waist of Jess, he started to walk past the enraged real girlfriend with the parting shot: "Come Jess, let's ignore this mad woman."

But Relena was convinced, no. . . **Certain** to the marrow of her bones that this was Heero, and darn if she was going to let him end their relationship this way.

Reaching out, she grabbed his free arm and refused to let go.

"Ulah!" uttered a surprised Heero, for he was now being pulled in two directions. One by the neck and the other by the arm.

"Let go!" Jess intoned, looking Relena fiercely in the eyes and grabbing Heero by his ears as they offered a better grip. A grimace appeared on the poor boy's face.

"No! This is Heero. I know it is so!" She shouted back, closing her eyes as she desperately clang onto his arm with all her might. "I feel it in heart, my bones, my _soul!_"

"Miss, I know this girl all my life!"

"I may not know Heero all my life but he and I share a bond. Heero. Please!" And with those words, tears leaked out of Relena's Dorian's eyes, much to the surprise of both the opponent and the victim.

Jess looked down at the ground and contemplated, biting her lips with guilt. The tears of Relena were tears of a desperate person who saw her loved one being taken away. And the worst part, both Heero and Relena, as far as Jess's knowledge of Gundam Wing extended, were genuinely in love. Who was she to come in between these two?

Suddenly feeling very tired of all the lying and acting, Jess let go of Heero's ears.

"Jess?" she heard Heero whisper her name with uncertainty.

Gathering all her strength for her best performance, she looked up and said in a rather authoritative voice: "Helen, take her somewhere and straighten her out." And then holding up a hand to silence the inevitable question already forming on his lips, she answered: "I'm returning back to the dormitory. I'll await the good news from you there."

With a nod of understanding and gratefulness reflected in his cobalt blue eyes, Heero took the sobbing girl by the arms and guided her down another path. Jess stood there for a short minute, watching them go and then started down her path towards the dormitory. Determined to forget the pain shooting up her legs, now that her support was gone.

Watching her hobble down the leaf-streaked path, Duo's admiration for the girl increased ten-fold. Apparently, their leader deserved more recognition for her thinking skills than they had given her credit for. Mumbling a distracted apology to the guy at his side, he darted forward to catch up with the girl before she reached the end of the footpath.

By the third step, his vision picked up a familiar figure striding alongside, at the same pace as him. The look of frustration on Wufei's face spoke volumes about his current thoughts.

"Competition from you?" Duo jested, letting a mischievous smile appear on his lips.

"Only in your eyes, Raceland," came the irritated answer. "That woman really gets under my skin. She's not only weak but helpless as well."

"It's girl."

"Whatever."

Then, each boy grabbed an arm and lifted the surprised girl off her feet, before proceeding to the nearest coach station where they could hire a ride back.

* * *

"You guys abandoned me!" Quatre wailed on busting through Wufei's door. He was brought up short by the sight of bloody cloths littering the neat floor, and Jess's tear-streaked face while Wufei and Duo laboriously worked on wrapping the foot they were in-charge of, in bandages.

"What happened?" Quatre's caring mode immediately snapped on and he quickly moved to wipe the tears off the girl's face with his hankie, his friends' betrayal forgotten.

"Would you believe that she bought a size too small for her new shoes?" came Wufei's annoyed answer. "And not only that, she continued walking till at least three of her toenails came loose?"

"Mine is only two but the rest of them are chipped," Duo quipped, adding in his lot.

"And there are two big blisters on either side of her feet," Wufei continued, ignoring his friend's contribution.

"Add the blister on the heel for mine . . ."

"Waaaah! Quatre!" Jess howled; frightened by the amount of damages they were inciting on her feet alone.

"You guys, quit it. You're scaring her." Quatre chided, patting Jess on her back as he surrendered his handkerchief to the upset female. "Shouldn't you have brought her to Sally?"

"We tried, but she's out for the day. Apparently weekends are her off-days and she's probably on some other planet playing doctor. The roster stated she won't be back till Monday morning," Wufei finished with a firm tuck of the bandage's loose end into one of the layers.

"Ouch," came the response from the victim. "Can't you be gentle?"

"For someone who brings me this much headache? No." And he strode out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

"Don't worry, he gets this grouchy if he can't achieve perfection," Duo comforted on seeing her lost expression.

"Do you blame me for this failed mission?" The question was asked in a tiny voice and with a very guilt-ridden face.

Carefully securing the bandage end into a knot, Duo answered without looking up: "No."

* * *

So in the end, the boys decided to throw in the towel and register the mission as failed, much to the amusement of the Doctors.

"Are you very sure about that?" Doctor J asked with raised eyebrows, trying hard not to let a squeak of laughter show.

"You can always invent some brain-switching mechanism and take over my place," Wufei gritted out through clutched teeth, doing his best not to snarl. "I'll give the both of you my blessing. Heck, I even feel generous enough to throw a wedding celebration if you want."

"Well . . . your "sister" can be a pretty good substitute . . ." Doctor J implied, scratching his head thoughtfully. "Speaking of which, where is she?"

**Plomp!**

The three scientists suddenly found themselves looking at a blown up version of a bandaged foot across all sixty-four screens.

"Ah . . . Out of action . . ."


	62. Music Swine

_AN: Nothing beats a good holiday than when your exams are over. Breathe the fresh air, the finest luxury of freedom, the ultimate joy in sloth! Can't help being like that even though I know it is suppose to be a sin. All the months of studying and racking my brains, I'll say this should be my reward._

_But enough about me. Let me thank all my diligent reviewers and readers for their ever-enduring patience: Raizard333, Silver Kitsune No Tenshi, Bunny, Remiera, MysticChaos, Chikara-yuy and SAGA123. TSTNW has been going on for almost three years now. Goodness, that's how long each of you guys has been with me. Happy!_

_And to the new ones: Prink, Izandria Johnson, loveable-M, sushi18, Black Spell, dragonelf 8 and to an unnamed person who reviewed, thanks so much for the rave reviews. I hope you will continue to find this fic a good source of laughter and adventure._

_Plus, to all those who wished me the best for the exams, thanks a whole bunch._

_Now on with the fic!_

**Chapter 62**

Relena inhaled a deep breath before lifting a hand to knock on the door. Despite of Heero's assurance, she still felt an overwhelming urge to apologize for her unladylike conduct and to make amends.

On the third knock, the door opened to reveal a familiar scowling face. Nodding her acknowledgement, she said: "Wuling. Is your . . ."

She got no further than that. The door slammed shut in her face. Not that it was surprising, considering she knew who she was talking to, but the abrupt rudeness was a bit daunting to proceed any further.

"Who was that?" she heard the voice of the girl with whom she had a dispute with yesterday, asked.

"Nobody," came the curt answer. "Now mind your own business."

"You mind your manners," she heard the girl echo her sentiments and smiled. No doubt she would get along fine with the girl. Placing the flowers on the floor outside the door, Relena turned to go.

Conveniently missing the continuing sentence: "Just because I can't walk doesn't give you're the right to start tutoring me."

"Oh, for goodness sake, quit your whining and start learning. X to the power of two, plus a square root of forty-nine . . ."

* * *

Duo rounded the corner just in time to catch the back of Relena disappearing down the stairway. For a moment, he paused in his stride to ponder on what the intelligent young woman was up to.

His questions were answered when he got to Wufei's and Jess's room. Picking up the bouquet, he understood the girl's kind intentions and smiled.

'_Jess, looks like it's your lucky day,'_ he thought as he gave the door a sharp rap. He was greeted with a very sour look from Wufei when the door opened.

"Hey Wu-gal," he started, raising a hand in greeting. Wufei took one look at his grinning face, the bouquet of flowers and followed his instinct.

**Slam!**

"For goodness sake, Wuling! Close the door gently!" he heard Jess scold his friend from the other side of the door. "And who _was_ that?"

"Nobody! Now let's finish up. You still have half a book more to go!"

"Half a book?" You told me we were only going to do a quarter! Right where the teacher finished!"

"Yeah well, I've changed my mind."

Duo didn't wait to hear her counter-argument. Jess was obviously a lady in distress and what better time to play gallant knight than now.

Giving a gentle cough to clear his throat, he called out, "Jess, I've come to bring you to the music room."

"Alright!" he heard the girl's jubilant cry and then there was a scuffle and an uttered curse in chinese, no doubt uttered by a certain moody person before the door opened the second time for him.

Jess stood in the doorway; cheeks flushed red with excitement, propped up by Wufei who looked none too pleased about the interruption.

"Quarisa's playing, right?" came the immediate question with a sparkle in her eyes. "She promised to cheer me up with a piece from Mozart."

Seeing her delight, Duo nodded and held out the bouquet of flowers to her.

"From Relena, with her most sincere apologies," he explained as she squealed with pleasure at the beautifulriot of colors the flowers offered.

Somewhere to the side, Wufei narrowed his eyes. At the rate they were going, the girl was going to fail her arithmetic test this week too.

"Well, if it is any consolation, I can play Mozart pieces pretty well and you can hear it **after **we have finished studying," he emphasized as he took the large bouquet out of her hands. He got a look of awe in return.

"Really?"

Trying hard not to puff his chest with pride, he nodded and continued his bragging: "Beethoven, Tchaikovshy, Chopin, you name it, I can play it." Then he noticed that the pressure on his arm was gone. Where the girl once stood, there was an empty space.

Sticking his head out the doorway, he was rewarded with the sight of Duo making off with Jess piggy riding on his back.

"HEY! Get back here!" he hollered as he gave chase after them.

* * *

"You need to loose weight," Duo wheeze out as he collapsed to the ground at her feet. Accepting the hankie Quatre held out to her, Jess slapped it on the boy's face with the retort: "I do not. I weigh a pleasant 50kg, thank you." 

"Good enough reason for a 1.6 meters person," the boy mumbled under his breath, beneath the hankie.

"What's that?"

"Nothing . . ."

Meanwhile, Quatre proceeded to seat himself comfortably next to Jess on the piano seat, only to find himself suddenly squashed in the middle by Wufei. As he turned to ask the Chinese boy what exactly he was thinking, his question stuck in his throat. The Chinese boy was furiously trying to stare him down.

With a tremendous amount of effort, he turned his head away to look upon the girl.

"Am I missing something?" he politely asked, trying his best to ignore the start of an uncomfortable twitching eyelid.

"No," she answered with as much innocence as an angel.

"Yes," Wufei darkly replied at the same time. Quatre wondered whether to follow his heart and bolt for the door, or do some good by performing the task he promised to undertake.

Relying on his wits, he asked the only trustworthy person around: "Dorine?"

"Jess is a poor, helpless damsel, being forced to study by the evil, jealous step-sister, Wuling . . ."

"JEALOUS?" the boy practically roared, "Jealous? Dorine Raceland! When was the last time you saw her exam marks?"

"Let me see . . . Nada. Zilch."

"Well! Let me tell you something, everyone is going to think I have a half-wit for a sister!"

"No . . . They think you're the freak," Jess returned nonchalantly. "I asked Heero to check the average test scores and the only one scoring for each and every test is you. I'm blending in just fine."

"Says who?"

"Says me. Besides, if anyone should ask about why we're so different, I can simply answer that you took all my brains away."

"Why you little ingrate . . ."

"That is enough!" Quatre cut in, deciding the argument had gone on long enough. "Wuling, the girl's injured. You should allow her some space. And Jess, you of all people should know Wuling's temperament. Trying to get your way all the time isn't fair to "her" and I think you have a pretty good idea on what Wuling is like on fairness."

"But . . ."

"No buts."

**Sigh.** "Yes Quarisa."

"Good. I am going to begin on Mozart for your enjoyment."

"Which one?" Wufei immediately asked, frowning as he recalled some pieces would take a good 15 minutes to finish completely.

"Oh, all of them."

"WHAT!"

"And could you kindly add Beethoven, Chopin and Tchaikovsky as well?" Duo requested, throwing over his shoulder to Quatre, his best winsome smile. "I've just heard of them today."

"Duo," Quatre remarked, blinking with amazement, "this is a pleasant surprise. I am please to note you are finally taking an interest in the classics."

At the blond's side, Wufei muttered under his breath: "Interest, my foot. He's doing it to send me earlier to my grave."

Meanwhile, Jess raised a hand to her mouth and sniggered.


	63. Heels lesson

_AN: Hi people, I have just returned from my holiday in Hong Kong. Hence, my long absence. This chapter was written both before and after my trip, so if it sounds a little disorientated, let me know._

_Okie, time to seize up who have been reading my little fic and reviewing, I raise my hand in salute to: lovable-M, Raizard333, Remiera (I finally understand why one of my characters name just seem so familiar now – which I guarantee is purely coincidental), SAGA123, Black Spell, x-digitalangel-x, OmaeoKorosuJemGurl, MysticChaos and CherryBlossoms21. Thanks a lot! _

_And to the new ones: Calli Maxwell, llamagurl and Silvermane 1. Glad you like my little fic. Hope you will enjoy the up coming chapters._

_On with the fic!_

Chapter 63 

School went on, Jess's toes healed and life went back to its monotony, with the only exception of Relena joining their group, much to the frustration of Miss Catherine Meldor and her little entourage of elites. Apparently they had been aiming for her to lend strength to their group's standing.

"I cannot understand what you see in them!" Catherine cried out as she trailed behind the slender blond. As usual, the girl gave her a parting smile before entering the classroom.

But Catherine was not to be deterred this time. In the past, she would leave the issue hanging as that, as Relena did not show any interest in siding any group for that matter. But now was different and of all groups, she had to choose (what Meldor considered) the worst clique of all.

Which was bad, for she had been plotting to make a certain boy-snatcher suffer. With Relena in that group now, not only was it impossible, but also her own group was on the verge of extinction. For the most sought-after female had made her opinion known on who was in and out, merely by gracing the group with her presence during school hours. And since it was no big secret that Catherine Meldor's group was an opposing rival to the newcomers, that made it all the more worse. With more and more resigning each day, pretty soon Catherine would need only one hand to count the members.

"Relena Dorian!" she shouted, uncaring that she was drawing the full attention of the whole class. "I demand an explanation and I demand it now!"

The girl, brought up short by her sudden exclamation of her name, now slowly turned to face her. Being looked at straight in the eye for the first time, Catherine shivered. Those eyes weren't smiling anymore. Nor were they gentle as what the expression on the rest of her face was suggesting.

'_No,'_ she realized with growing horror, _'This is the real Relena when she is angry.'_ And now, it's too late for her to take back what she had just said.

The girl continued to look back at her with her penetrating gaze for a moment longer, making sure that she got the message that she didn't want to be bothered further. Then, speaking slowly, she answered: "I like their cakes." And that was the end of their conversation.

* * *

"Ah Chee!" Heero sneezed before reaching for the tissue packet in his blouse pocket. Next to him, Duo whispered from the corner of his mouth: "You coming down with a cold, pal? Want me to bring you to the nurse office?"

Meanwhile, the class had come to a standstill, the teacher looking expectantly at him as if waiting for a reply to an unspoken question. Feeling puzzled, he continued to stare at the teacher blankly.

Jess quickly gave the underneath of Heero's chair seat a light kick to get his attention.

"Manners," she reminded him under her breath, under the pretense of scribbling something on her paper.

Miss Remira was the sister of Jenny Theotla, and like her sister, was particular about things that were related to her lessons. Thus, like Miss Jenny who was concerned with food, so was Miss Remira with manners as she was the teacher on proper etiquette and self-presentation for young ladies.

"Um . . . Excuse me?" Heero half answered, half questioned the correctness of his response.

The teacher immediately frowned. After all, it was well known that Miss Remira didn't like Heero from the first time she laid eyes on him. For his crop-short hair and boyish face and demeanor, totally went against all principals she held true of what made a fine young lady on appearance and poise. If it weren't for Principal Witherby's direct orders and an undisclosed sum from Doctor J, sent to sooth the ruffled feathers of Miss Remira, Heero would have been spending Tuesday afternoon in his room alone.

Heero racked his brains hard to come up with a more pleasing answer. But it remained elusive and try as he might, the best he could mumble, while turning red: "May I be excused?"

The teacher closed her eyes and heaved a deep sigh. Then came the all too familiar lecture that was heard too many times and made everyone's shoulders slump.

To Heero's right, Duo started to mimic her words with a hand over his mouth: "Helen dear, you are simply not trying hard enough. It is bad enough to come to class with your hair in a mess, your skirt crumpled and your neck scarf askew. You lack the grace when you walk and the tact when you speak. Your appearance is a laughing stock to the fashion world and your manners have want of good upbringing. How am I to answer to your parents when they find you unpolished as the day you came? They will wonder if I have paid you enough attention and my creditably as a teacher will come under suspicion. Do you want me out of a job, my dear Helen? Would it satisfy you to see me out on the streets begging?"

Yep, nothing new at all. Not even one word different from the time she first lectured for Duo's words matched hers perfectly in unison. So taking his cue, Heero answered as per normal: "I will do better next time, Miss Remira."

"So you always say. But all this to me is like lip service from you. Not once have I seen an improvement coming out of you."

"Yes, Miss Remira."

"I expect better of you from now on, understand?"

(Nod, nod.)

And normally, this would have ended their exchange but today was different. Possibly because the teacher had finally decided that enough was enough or that she suspected that Heero really didn't care.

"Fine. You will be my model today," she continued, startling the whole class with this new addition of punishment. "You shall demonstrate to the class the art of walking in four-inch heels."

"WHAT?" the boy exclaimed, jumping out of his seat in horror.

"Good to see that you are very enthusiastic about this," the teacher sarcastically went on, marching up to him and placing a pair of four inch shoes in his hands. (1) "Now please proceed to the front."

Hence, with the teacher close on his heels, Heero had no choice but to do as the teacher instructed.

Once the shoes were on, with a lot of help in balancing from the teacher's desk, the lesson was ready to commence, much to the dread of the victim and to the amusement of his four other friends.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" the teacher demanded when Heero continued to stand there, his face pale asa sheet with one hand gripping the table so hard that his knuckles were white. "Get moving. We don't have all day."

A collected harsh fell across the room as Heero made his first step into woman's territory.

_Pah._ His foot had landed safely on the ground.

Daring a peek at his feet, and seeing that he wasn't in danger of falling yet, Heero started to feel a small smile of triumph creep up the corners of his mouth.

**PAH!**

Down came the teacher's books on his head, shocking the daylights out of him.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang, who were seating comfortably at their tables, started to freak. Miss Remira had just dumped a stack of books on Heero's head. And one of them happened to be the Oxford Dictionary.

"Wrong!" her voice boomed out over the classroom, "That is a step of a _man_! Ugly, big and uncultured. You must take small steps, dainty steps, demure steps that show status, rank and eloquence. Three inches for a step is the best. Slow, gentle, little steps that portray calmness and exudes femininity. No slouching, back straight up and chest out. Look straight ahead and eyes focus on the front, not the ground. Now start walking and don't you dare let those books on your head drop. Olah! No hands! You need more work!"

While Miss Remira was ranting on, she was doing exactly what she was speaking. With a mixture of horror and amusement, they watched as she grabbed Heero's shoulders and pulled them back, causing the boy's eyes to bulge in surprise with the sudden change in posture. Duo winced with sympathy when he saw Miss Remira grabbed Heero's chin and forced it up.

"She's gonna be on the hit list when he gets ole trusty back," he muttered under his breath to Wufei, who deciding that he had seen enough indignity dealt to his friend, had taken interest in his desk's polished wooden top in respect for his friend's privacy.

"Jess, do something, you're the real female," Quatre urged her from the side, where he was seating. Somehow, just hearing the word: _"real female"_ struck a raw nerve in Jess.

"What do you mean _"real female"_? Are you implying that only females can wear high heels?"

"Oh wonderful. Our leader is going on to feminisms at a time like this." Wufei commented under his breath. "And you guys still wonder why I hate females."

* * *

Three hours later, Heero was seating on his bed and soaking his swollen feet. But his hands were furiously working at the keyboard of his laptop, flying around as he searched for something on the net.

Meanwhile, Quatre had taken on the role of host and was handling out glasses of orange juice to everybody else.

"I have never seen anything move that slow before. If that is what life have in store for the female race, I'm sure glad I was born a guy," Duo commented as he watched his friend scan his search results.

"What is he looking for?" Jess asked, curiosity quipped by the intensity she saw burning in the boy's eyes as he meticulously searched for that something.

"The inventor of the high heels." Came the breezy answer.

"Whatever for?"

"So he can shoot him and spare us this torture," Wufei answered, peeking over Heero's shoulder to look at the laptop screen.

"Well, he can stop. The first high heel was invented in the Victorian era for horse-riding initially, so to my best knowledge, that person should be already dead. Plus, this is after all the year 2050. That guy will be over a few hundred years old if he's still alive."

"Wow, do you women do research on this kind of thing?"

"No. My mom likes documentaries, so I picked up a few facts here and there as time goes by."

"Interesting . . ." Meanwhile, Heero with a heartfelt sigh, ended his search and closed his laptop.

"So do all woman really walk this slow?" Duo asked, still unable to understand as to why women were willing to adhere to such ridiculous rules while inflicting such a torturous device on themselves for the sake of fashion.

At that, Jess jerked a thumb in Quatre's direction, saying: "Don't ask me. I'm from the working class and we tend to wear flats, as they are more practical for work. Besides, work requires us to move fast, so I can't say it applies to my class. Quatre is from high society, ask him that."

Immediately, Quatre placed the tray down and settled himself next to Duo before answering: "Yes, they do tend to move slowly." Then dropping his voice to a whisper, he continued: "but not as slowly as our teacher made Heero walk today. Personally, I feel that this is revenge for all the agonizing our dear friend is causing her."

Unfortunately, Heero's sharp ears caught Quatre deductions and up went the laptop screen again.

"What's he on to now?" Jess questioned. Heero's actions had just triggered the alarm bells in her head.

"He's searching the school system for something to blackmail Miss Remira." Wufei distractedly answered, fascinated by whatever the laptop screen displayed.

"Heero!" Jess chided, frowning at him to show her disapproval of his action.

"Just once."

"No."

"Hn."

"I mean it."

"Don't care."

"Stop it right now! This is an order!"

**Sigh.** ". . . Yo Kai."

_Author's Proclamation:_

_(1) In St Hiliary, the shoes are bought by the school for each of the girls according to their sizes for practice. Hence, naturally Miss Remira had a pair of heels that would fit Heero._


	64. Homework

_AN: Unfortunately, dear readers and reviewers, I have caught the flu bug and hence I am unable to give my heartfelt thanks to all my wonderful reviewers out there. Thank goodness this chapter was typed in advance . . . I feel awful . . . _

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 64**

"Where is my homework!" Wufei freaked as he searched furiously for the geography exercise book. Bedsheets went flying and clothes came piling out of the cupboards the more he searched.

"Pipe down," Jess chided from her study desk. "I'm trying to study here. Besides, if you didn't take it out of the room, it should be somewhere around here."

"You're right," the boy agreed and stopped his frantic search. Then, after clearing up the mess he had made, he strolled over to her side.

"What?" she asked when he continued to stand silently at her side with a hand out-stretched.

"Hand it over."

"Have you gone bonkers? You actually think I took it?" and she stood up to face him, meeting him eye to eye. Meanwhile, her chair topped over from the sudden action, creating a loud bang that seemed to signal the start of a tense silence that had taken over the room.

"Naturally you're the only person with access to my stuff. Books can't walk now, can they?" the boy reasoned with a smug look on his face. "Besides, this isn't the first time such a thing happened."

And he paused a moment for her to absorb what he had just said before continuing: "Since I felt you needed some credit, I closed an eye to this."

That hit an angry spot. Snatching the book off her desk, Jess held it in front of his face for him to get a good look.

"Jess's geography exercise book," Wufei read aloud the small labeling on the book cover and blushed. From where he was standing, he could also see another book on the table and from the contents of it; he could tell that was their geography textbook.

"You know, if I had really taken your darn book, I wouldn't be cracking my brain over this right now," she added in rather fiercely, deepening his embarrassment further. "Not everyone finish all their homework on the first day of school. And not everyone is a genius like you either."

"Well! Excuse me, woman of _inferior _quality," he quickly rebutted and turned his back to her. Secretly feeling guilty about what he had just done when he was obviously the one at fault. "But anyone with half the brains will think that you took it. You with your lousy grades and all . . ."

If anyone had an excuse to murder him, this was one of them.

Jess slowly raised a fist, ready to give the boy a pounding of his life while Wufei wondered when she was going to correct him with the word: girl . . . when they were interrupted.

"Weiling? Wuling?" Quatre stood in their doorway, the stolen exercise book in his hands. "What's wrong?"

"Arh!" Wufei exclaimed and rushed to the blonde's side. "Why do you have it?"

"I needed to borrow it. There were some questions too baffling to understand. They do not phase the questions as straight forward as they used to," the petite boy answered calmly, handing the book over. "Anyway, I left you a note on your desk. Did you not see it?"

"Note? I didn't see any note when I came in," the boy replied, looking very puzzled.

"That's strange, I left it under the lamp," the blond mused, going up to the lamp to look it up and down. "I was pretty sure I left it there . . . Did you see any note Jess?"

Jess quickly shook her head.

"Wuling and I entered the room at the same time, and we didn't see a single note anywhere."

"How strange . . ."

"Putting that aside," the frustrated boy cut in, marching up to stand in front of Quatre, "Did you borrowed any other things as well since we came to school?"

The blond shook his head.

"Usually, the only problem I have is with geography," he answered simply; his blue eyes opened wide with honesty. "You have been missing things?"

"Here and there," the Chinese boy confessed before looking uneasily in the girl's direction. He received a good glare from her for that answer before returning his attention back to the blond. "But I won't be pointing fingers until I have evidence," He added aloud for the girl's sake as well as his.

Satisfied with his answer, Jess picked up her fallen chair and went back to her studies.

Meanwhile, Quatre rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes looking up into the air.

"I do know that Dorine has a habit of borrowing your makeup," he confessed with a small smile on his lips, as if that thought amused him greatly.

"WHAT!"

"And from what I have heard so far, Helen has been borrowing your physics and chemistry notes."

"How _could_ he . . . I mean **she**! Without **asking**!"

"Actually," Quatre corrected with a slight frown on his face, "we have been borrowing your things for quite a while now. But not without asking. Usually, we go up to you . . ."

"Up to now, **no one** has bothered to approach me," the infuriated Chinese boy countered, leaning forward to tower over the little guy.

Quatre immediately took a step back and continued calmly: "Fine. We leave you notes to let you know we have been borrowing."

"Which I haven't seen up to this day."

"You are not making this any easier for me."

"Like you are making it easier for me either."

"Oh, come on. The notes must be somewhere," The blond coaxed, half his brain focused on the Chinese boy who was starting to swell with anger, half his brain thinking on how fast he could reach the door before the martial arts expert could.

"Fine! You find them. I give you an hour to search this room thoroughly and find those, idiotic, darn notes to prove your innocence!" the boy snarled and marched out the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Nasty temper today?" Quatre questioned the girl, walking up to peer into her exercise book.

"Everyday it's the same."

"What's his problem?" Duo's voice suddenly spoke from underneath Jess's bed, startling the other two occupants. "We return it all the time."

"Hn," Heero agreed from somewhere beside him.

"DUO! What on **earth** are you doing _under _my bed!" Jess shrieked as she got out of her chair and made for the bed. On lifting up the edge of the bed sheets, two faces peered back at her; one smiling, the other solemn.

"And Heero, this isn't like you," Quatre added in, kneeling down beside Jess to look at his two friends with concern. Apparently, Duo was learning to apply makeup again, for a small handheld mirror stood propped up in front of his face, and he held Wufei's twilight-blue eye shadow in one hand and the applicator in the other. Heero, on the other hand, had a book opened in front of him and was copying off another book, which no doubt, belonged to Wufei. And bending even lower, Jess could see they had attached a night light to the underneath of her bed.

"He couldn't help it," Duo explained, returning to admire his handiwork in the mirror. "Wufei placed a tracking device on that book. And you know how upset Wufei gets if his book goes missing just the day before submission."

"So you left **_me_** to take the blame?" the girl angrily concluded, reaching out a hand to tweak the American boy's ear.

"Ow, ow, ouch! This is the first time. I swear! _He swears_!" Duo proclaimed, and in his pain, pointed a finger at Heero as well.

"Hn, betrayer . . ." The Japanese boy grumbled under his breath without pausing in his copying.

While this had been going on, Quatre had silently gotten up and went to the back of the room. Now, upon returning, he started distributing pieces of papers to the boys.

"What are these for?" Duo questioned, picking up a piece. This one was crumpled while the others had dirt or dust on them; none the same in color, texture or print. Meanwhile, Heero had taken out a pen from his pencil box and was passing it to Quatre, no doubt understanding the Arab boy's actions.

"Quatre?"

"We need evidence that we borrowed with permission, right? Get started writing all those notes on the things we borrowed before."

"But we really did write all those notes, at least . . . he did," the long-haired boy protested.

"_You_ try convincing him," came the quick retort and that was enough to get the American to work.

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Ronald let out a sigh and stood up. His friends' interests were going into obsession.

"You guys have been staring at those notes for the last half an hour," he commented, looking at his two roommates, who were lying on their respective beds, staring at their side of the wall, which was entirely covered in notes that always began with: "Wuling, I need to borrow . . ."

Meanwhile, his friends stirred a little and then answered dreamily: "Yeah . . ."

"And you do this every single day."

"Uh huh . . ."

"None of those are love letters!" he screamed, letting out his frustration that had been building up ever since Karl had met up with that girl called Wuling.

"Doesn't matter," came the unexpected quick answer from David. "It's in their handwriting."

"Maybe for you, David. After you saw that blond girl at the dinner, you haven't been doing anything except writing her name in all your books. But for you! Karl, that is not Wuling's handwriting. If I'm right, those are Helen's!"

"I like the way she writes my darling's name," his friend reasoned before tearing his eyes away from the scribbles to look at him finally. "Why are you so agitated?"

"I . . ." he began to explain but David suddenly interrupted: "Isn't obvious? His darling doesn't write notes. She just takes what she wants and leaves the room."

"Oh . . ." came the understanding sigh and the smug look that he hated so much when they guessed his feelings right.

"That is _sooooo_ out of context!" He protested out of pride and stalked over to David's side to give him a real good glare. "It's the project we have to hand up tomorrow that has me irk!"

Instead of looking intimidated, the golden-brown haired boy sat up on his bed and gave him a mysterious look.

"Perhaps this may be of interest to you . . ." his friend said, his right hand slowly disappearing into his right pocket. As if under some spell, Ronald couldn't stop starting at the pocket and its mysterious contents.

"You've got something of hers," he concluded when the silence stretched on and the hand remained in the pocket.

"Uh huh."

"What's your deal?"

"You let us continue looking at these notes for half an hour more."

"No problem," the boy hastily agreed, hand already outstretched to receive the much-wanted item. "In fact, look as much as you want to."

"Very good . . ."

Out came a white piece of cloth and this was placed in his hands.

"What's this?"

"Her hankie."

"So huge?"

"Don't look at me. That is definitely hers. She dropped it at the restaurant."

"HOW DARE YOU KEEP . . ." and he paused in his tirade for his friends were looking at him with all-knowing looks. Taking a big gulp to swallow down his anger, he continued on nonchalantly: ". . . anyway, thanks."

"Uh huh . . ." came the smug answers and they went back to admiring the notes again.

Which was fortunate for Ronald, as he couldn't stop the big, happy, pleased grin from appearing on his lips as he skipped to his own bed to admire the hankie.


	65. Making a stand

_AN: I hope you enjoy this chapter. I certainly had fun typing it. _

_To my darling, sweet, every enduring, patient reviewers: Calli Maxwell, Chikara-Yuy, Silver Pain, cherrybossoms21, Remiera, dragonelf 8, Silver Kitsune No Tenshi, Raizard333, Kuria, M, sushi18 and x-digitalangel-x. Thanks a million for the raving reviews. You guys really make my day._

_To the new reviewers: Saferia, random person (It's interesting . . . Hm . . .) and tokoshie-no-sayonara. Glad to hear you're enjoying the fic so far. Hope you will continue to enjoy them in the future._

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 65**

The last week at St Hilary's School started out like any other. The usual bumble of school life as the students shifted from class to class and the sound of chalk scrapping on the blackboards as the teachers gave their lessons. To the average student, it was just another dreary week of school starting but to Jess and the boys, these were precious moments where they were just a few in the thousands, having an ordinary life with ordinary circumstances to deal with.

Jess let out a lazy, yet contented sigh as she gazed out the window from her desk. Being at St Hilary felt exactly like she was back at school. Living a normal life, with normal friends. No missions to interrupt their school's life hectic schedule, or any indication that their lives weren't normal. In fact, if she closed her eyes and just let the hum of things drone on in her ears, Jess could easily forget that this was all a facade.

The rest of the boys must have felt the same for where once worries ceased their youthful foreheads, now relaxation and an expression of inner peace reside there. Duo had propped up his book in front of his face, catching a happy little snooze at the expense of history.

Wufei was on the laid back side; leaning back against his chair with both arms folded, listening to the history teacher's speech with a light touch of skepticism apparent on his face. Heero was hunched over his desk, jolting down notes as the teacher spoke, and Quatre was simply just being himself, paying attention to each word with appreciation written all over his face.

For Jess, history was a lot like storytelling time, for pieces of knowledge only coincided with history in her world from time to time. So she listen with only half a ear, taking in the amount of propped up books besides Duo's and the other girls catching a quick Monday afternoon nap.

However, this tranquility was to be interrupted by the starting music played out by the intercom overhead, startling the sleeping students awake and interrupting the lesson.

"Can the Racelands, Lauther and Lees please proceed to the doctor's office immediately? Your presence is required there. I repeat, can the Racelands, Lauther and Lees please proceed to the doctor's office immediately? Your presence is required there. Thank you."

With a nod of approval from their teacher, the gang got up and moved into the hallway.

"Wonder what Sally wants," Duo mused as he fell in step beside Heero. Likewise, the rest took their cue and fell into line behind them accordingly.

"You must have sneaked off during the last medical jab," Wufei accused before shooting an annoyed glare into the American's back when he received no response in kind. "We must be the reinforcements to hold you down."

"Now Wufei," Quatre intervened, trying his best to salvage the situation before it blew up, "no need to get upset over a History lesson."

"What does History have to do with what the idiot has done?"

"Everything." Jess calmly answered instead, her eyes focused on the front.

"Don't think that just because you have lived with me for a month, you know everything there is to know about me."

"True, but you only get _this_ agitated when your studies are interrupted."

"Wha . . . Why you . . . How . . . ?" Wufei spluttered, at a loss of words on how to defend his behavior, face flushing a slight red from the statement made about him. But deep down inside, he knew the girl had hit the spot right on.

"Shhh!" Heero shushed under his breath. Just ahead, a few feet away, the elites were waiting.

"Oh bother," Wufei muttered when the girls stepped out to block their path. Apparently, they had been waiting for them. "Just what we need."

"Step aside," Catherine Meldor instructed Heero and Duo with an arrogant wave of her hand. Her arrogant attitude changed to one of annoyance when they did nothing about her bidding.

"Fine then," she proudly huffed, trying her best to cover up her embarrassment in front of her little entourage. "Wuling and the rest of you pitiful, pathetic, sad, cluster of _gals_, are hereby challenged to the St Hilary's "Duel to the Death". Our duel will take place this Saturday, on the school grounds and I have already made the arrangements so the whole school may be present . . ."

At that, Miss Meldor voice faded off into uncertainty for, with the exception of two, each of the girls' face in the opposing group had suddenly started to brighten. No . . . more like **shine** was the appropriate word. Their eyes seemed to take on an unexpected sparkle of happiness and their complexion instantly seemed to glow with delight as if she had just offered them chocolates instead of a challenge.

"Duel to the death, you say?" the one called Dorine questioned, her strikingly violet eyes looking at her in an imploring way to say yes.

"Um . . . that's right . . .," she answered with more doubt than when she first made her decision to challenge them outright. She was shocked thoroughly when the girl let out a loud whoop of exuberance.

"Saturday is too far," her love rival remarked, coming to the front to face off with her. "Make it tomorrow. No wait, if I order today, it won't reach till Wednesday. Thursday is a pretty good day. Make it Thursday."

"I can't, I booked Saturday . . ." Miss Catherine Meldor suddenly found herself in the position of pleading. Quite opposite from the position she believed she would be holding before their exchange.

"Hn. No choice. Saturday then," the girl called Helen agreed and started to move forward, making it quite clear it was settled. Without much ado, Catherine's group parted so they may file past, stunned by the unexpected compliance from the other group.

"What just happened?" Luanne, her best friend, asked, green eyes wide open with disbelieve as they watched the group reach the end of the hall and turn right to move down the corridor.

"I have absolutely no idea," came the response as the last of the opposing group members disappeared around the corner.

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"You want us to WHAT?" a majority of the gang chorus in dismay. If anything, Sally was surprised to see the unwillingness coming from the boys, especially from Wufei, whom she was certain would have been happy to be sent back.

"Well, you know orders from Doctor J and G are absolute. You have to destroy the Federation branch this Saturday or you'll miss the Orga meteorite in which you can hitch a ride back to the HQ as well as hide your Gundams."

"But we have a duel this Saturday. We can't do both things at the same time." Duo winced to her, throwing in the hurt puppy look expression in addition. But that was lost on Sally, who was by now immune to most of Duo's charms.

"Duel? What Duel?" she questioned suspiciously, fixing a shrewd eye on the boy.

"The St Hilary "Duel to the Death" challenge," the boy cheerfully answered, jumping down from the clinic bed. "We get to wallop that snooty Meldor kid's ass as well as take _control_ of the whole school. Ah hah ha ha!"

Meanwhile, the surrounding people started to shrink away from Duo. When Duo was into that kind of mood, it was better to leave him alone. Sally immediately proceeded to the back cabinet to check that her "happy" medicine was still untouched.

"Have Duo ever said: "Today, St Hilary. Tomorrow . . . The world!" yet?" Jess quickly whispered to the blond sitting next to her, peeling an apple. Quatre shook his head.

"Whatever gave you such an idea?" he gently asked, handling her a slice.

"Pinky and the Brain."

"Pardon?"

"Never mind."

When Sally returned, she was in a rather thoughtful mood. Giving each of them a measured look, finally asked again: "You sure you would rather go kick some spoilt brats' behind than go shake up some Federation by its roots?"

"YESSS!" the boys expounded, each clasping their hands together, as if in prayer, as they eagerly waited for the final verdict.

With a sigh, Sally gave in with a smile and a nod. After all, these kids were in need of experiencing competition besides that on the battlefield. "We'll just have to shift it up to next Wednesday then, when the Igo Meteor Showers go past. But you have to fly through it to cover your tracks and it's a bigger risk than a lone Meteorite . . ."

"Not a problem!" Duo triumphantly announced, heading for the door now that their conversation was drawing to a close. "Just get G to hook us up with the big guns and our Gundams rechargers come Friday."

And when they were gone, Sally drew aside the curtain, revealing a lone figure munching on an orange.

Trowa threw the last of the orange skin into the bin before kicking away from the wall he was leaning against.

"Looks like the plan to high tail Jess out of this school is delayed," she commented to the redhead, who nodded his understanding. "I leave Doctor J to you to convince. He can't stand long stubborn silences."

"When?" came the question that made Sally think hard on what the teenager was asking about.

But a minute of contemplation got her nowhere, thus she decided to play her cards safe by covering both topics: "For the girl, you get her out by Monday. For Doctor J, contact him by tomorrow."

With a solemn salute, the boy was out the door, into the hall, leaving barely a whisper in his wake.

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Treize straightened away from the computer, blinking hard to be sure he was seeing correctly.

The girl from a month ago was looking up at him from the screen. What was more startling was that her sister resembled a lot like a certain someone he knew. With a few quick jabs on his keyboard, his suspicion was confirmed. As he looked upon the new arrivals, he couldn't help but gloat over the ridiculous getup they were willing to adorn just to bring down the Federation fall.

Admittedly, Shinigami and the young heir to Winner enterprise could have easily passed themselves off for girls, and beautiful ones at that. But for the perfect soldier, his effort was laughable, made worse by the huge polka dot ribbon atop his head as if to add testament to his credibility of being a girl. It also stood to reason why they couldn't trace the thief despite the frequent raids on St Edwin.

But the longer he looked at the mousy one, whose name now was known to him as "Weiling", his curiosity grew larger on her actual gender. As far as he was concerned, she had never appeared like the other five in the previous sabotages before. But a sudden jolt of memory got him sweating in his collar. There was a sixth who appeared when they almost gained the upper hand in a battle about two months back, turning the tables back on them if not for a stroke of luck which made them both at a draw.

The sudden ring of his desk phone broke through the haze of his thoughts and he was forced to abandon them temporary. This was not without reward for his caller happened to be an old acquaintance and childhood friend.

"Greetings, it's been a long time old chap. I was beginning to believe the rebellion really finished you off," came the dignified voice of his old friend.

"Dream on, Mill. Like that will ever happen," the orange-red haired young man good-naturedly returned. "To what pleasure do I owe this honor of receiving your call?"

"As always the same question. Surely you do not require me to spell it out for you, now do you?"

"Utterly not. And as always, I refuse."

"One day I will get to hear those sweet words that you will come over and join me," his friend foretold.

"Ha! You can go on waiting, my good friend. But rest assured, I sooner dress as a girl than speak those words."

"Make sure you don't choke on those words when I collect my bet," and Treize could tell from his voice that Zech was highly amused on his end of the phone.

"And when the war ends and I end up saving your sorry ass, you'll be doing exactly that for me," he returned smoothly, smirking as he spoke. Meanwhile, his eyes lingered on the picture of the "girl" called Quarisa, trying his best to envision his friend in such a getup. "You might just be surprised at the wonders of makeup."


	66. Shocking details

_AN: Okie, I know a lot of you reviewed the past chapter. Unfortunately, I have hurt my fingers spring cleaning in the office (I've got a job!) and I have to go to work in one hour time. (Still haven't have my lunch and bath yet!)_

_Anyway, I thank you for reviewing and hopefully I can thank each of you properly the next time I put up the chapter. Sigh . . . You have no idea how hard it is to hold a job at the same time as writing and taking up class for drawing. Sigh . . . Cherio!_

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 66**

"You did WHAT?" Relena all but shrieked, hands going up to clasp her face in horror.

"Relax sister," Duo lazily consoled from his place on the bed. "You should have a clear idea on our shooting ability by now. Abet for one . . ." And all eyes slid away to look upon a skinny, black haired girl.

"Oi."

But Relena would not be comforted by this promise of marksmanship. In fact, she became more overwrought and starting wringing her hands with despair.

"You guys . . . I mean girls . . . have simply no idea about what the St Hilary's Duel is, do you?" she persistently pressed, looking desperately around the room at each one of the inhabitants.

"How hard is it to understand the meaning of "Duel to the Death", woman?" Wufei snorted, positioning himself next to his "sister" at the windowsill. "Of course we know what "Duel to the Death" indicates. If this fight doesn't involve guns, the fist should suffice if needs be. Just don't try telling me we have to strangle them using their neck scarves."

With that answer at hand, Relena knew they were lost. Slapping her hands over her eyes, she proceeded to set them onto the right path of thinking, and perhaps throwing a whole bucket of ice on their positive mood.

With a small moan, she began: "The term: Duel to the Death, doesn't literally mean killing off your opponent or vice versa. It's a metaphor rather. In this case, death means the end of your group recognition. Perhaps it is better if you know about the St Hilary story first. Apparently, Hilary was a young woman who had a love rival for her betrothed. So she made the woman a challenge she couldn't refuse. The prize was her betrothed and the punishment to the loser was to be a slave to the winner . . ."

"A slave? Hey, I could use that," Duo happily remarked, getting up into a sitting position. "My clothes have been starting to give off a smell lately . . ." Immediately, all hands went up to cover their host's noses while bodies made attempts to move away from him.

"I meant the ones in the basket, which are in the toilet," he quickly explained, looking most offended. Meanwhile, Heero started plotting on how to get his money back from Duo, for the toilet detergent and time he invested to rid of the mystery smell that would never go away.

"Anyway, before I was interrupted," Relena continued on, giving Duo a sourly look, "the rival lost and she had to be her slave for the period of one year."

"That's wonderful!" came the exclamation.

"No it's not," the slender blond contradicted, shooting another sour look to silence him. "The contest runs on a very different ground from what you're envisioning."

"There's no shooting?" Heero immediately questioned, suspecting his area of interest was in great jeopardy.

"Oh, there is shooting." Relena confirmed.

Three faces instantly brightened.

"Just not at each other."

The shining dulled a bit but the smiles still remained.

"And that's only one aspect of the competition."

That wiped the smiles completely off their faces.

With great difficulty, Wufei swallowed whatever belief he held against asking a woman for her expertise, and put forward the question that would end their curiosity: "There's more?"

With a grave nod, Relena went on: "You'll be judged in a **_beauty_ **contest. This contest will be judged according to various elements that a woman is to be prided on. Like grace, poise, appearances, dressing . . . Shooting comes under the marksmanship category. Then there is the compulsory swimsuit contest; in your case it will be a group judging . . ."

"Tell me Miss Catherine Meldor didn't say it will be held on the field outside when she issued that challenge!" Duo squeaked, his voice reaching an all time high as he searched the room for a savior to drive away the clouds of doubt.

"She did say: "on school grounds" so that would mean the hall," Wufei answered, being the one with the best memory for minute details. "After all, morning assembly is always held there and the stage is for activities like this . . ."

"Um . . . Just one question . . . Did she, by any chance, said she had made arrangements for the whole school to attend?" Relena interrupted his deductions, looking apologetic.

"More or less . . . Yeah, she did. But this is an all girls' school . . . Why on earth are you shaking your head?"

"When one says _whole_ school, it means St Edwin is invited as well because even though it may seem like they are separate from us, the foundation of the two schools falls under one administration."

"Huh?"

"The St Hilary challenge happens to be founded on a **real **story. Hilary won the challenge and married her betrothed, Edwin and after this, both set up the two lucrative schools. Hilary in-charge of one and Edwin in-charge of the other. Don't you know the tradition that the two principals of the two schools must be married to each other before taking over the post?"

"Principle Witherby is married?"

"Witherby happens to the family name of St Edwin's principal. I thought at least one of you would have known."

"Know, yes. Link, no. I thought they were siblings," Heero quietly owned up, trying his best to avoid meeting any of the accusing glares now directed at him from across all parts of the room. "You can't expect me to derive their relationship when both have the title: "Principal" in front of their names . . ."

"So that concludes where this competition is going to be held. The field will be the battle ground for you comes Saturday."

"Is there any chance we can resurrect a 10 foot wall around the field by then?"

"You want to donate the money, Raceland?" came the bitter retort.

"Anyway," Relena went on and taking a sip out of her bottle, "the boys are an important element in this competition. They are the judges."

"WHAT?"

"The contest is judged according to how much the boys collectively give as marks to each contestant sent out by your group. The scoring depends on how much marks you "girls" collectively earn on an average."

"So they will be assessing us?" Wufei could barely gasp that sentence out, horror now a thick, heavy lump in his throat.

"Yes. Why do you think poise, grace, appearances and dressing are so important? Presentation, besides just winning in marksmanship, is equally important. Marks are given for winning but if you go about it in a clumsy way, you can bet that you will be pulled under by the negative scoring on presentation."

"How about we get Quarisa to beg the Principal to put a stop to such a ridiculous event?" Jess quickly suggested, likewise feeling inadequate to meet the challenge. After all, one needs only an eye to see she wasn't beauty contestant material.

"Hey! Why me?" the little guy protested with a touch of unhappiness on his face.

"Because she likes you best among us . . ."

"Always speaking to you gently . . ."

"Smiled at you so sweetly on our first day of enrollment . . ."

"And couldn't keep her eyes off your financial assets." Wufei concluded with a smirk. "You'll do perfectly."

Just then, the intercom sounded above their heads.

"Attention all students," the voice pleasantly addressed, making frowns appear for each person in the room recognized the distinctive high-pitched, sugary voice of Catherine Meldor. "There will be a St Hilary's Challenge this Saturday, on the school's field outside, where the Elites shall compete against the scruffy pets of Relena Darlian."

"Scruffy . . .?" Heero began, starting to look most displeased.

"Pets?" Duo echoed with annoyance.

"Of a woman?" Wufei thundered, expression turning as black as a storm.

"She will pay," all three guys vowed under their breaths, oblivious that their voices chorused in unison. Meanwhile Jess and Quatre let out a heartfelt sigh. From the look of things, it was going to go downhill from here on.

Unaware of the grave she was digging for herself, Catherine Meldor continued on happily: "The prize will be Karl Otheallo. To the miserable competitors, I hope all six of you have been practicing hard on your housework and pampering skills. You certainly be needing it after the event." With that, the intercom signaled off.

After blinking with surprise, Relena repeated her words with a troubled look: "All six?" The boys, on the other hand, were too deep in thoughts to care.

"You know what? I would have been glad to lose the competition if it didn't involve my pride, my dignity and my future," Wufei remarked sourly, fuming at the no-win situation set up by a single pompous, rich brat.

"Perhaps it's not too late to tell Doctor J that we've changed our mind and would carry out "_Operation Annihilation_" this Saturday . . ." Duo spoke, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"An excellent idea, quite a genius coming out from your mouth, Raceland," Wufei praised, moving away from the windowsill. "Helen, get out your laptop and get in touch with your mentor."

"What is this operation?"

"Mission." Heero answered his girlfriend, pulling out his laptop from beneath his bed.

"Please send our utmost sincere apologies to Miss Catherine that we would not be accepting the challenge after all," Quatre completed the explanation, bestowing a gentle smile on the lovely lady.

"No, you can't," Relena exclaimed, shutting the screen down again before Heero could get it fully up. "All six of us mean that I'm included."

"I'm sure she meant to say "all five". A simple mistake."

"You don't know Catherine like I do. She does **not** make mistakes when it comes to the St Hilary Challenge. How do you think she made her group the Elites of the school? They hold the record-breaking number of success for the St Hilary Duel in the entire history of this school. Even Principal Witherby's seventeen successes can't hold a candle to her thirty successes. Besides, if I tell her now that we're withdrawing, there is a penalty we all have to pay."

"And that would be?"

"Being treated as a dog and living in the dog house for half a year. Starting from the moment I announce we're withdrawing."

"Wouldn't the principal put a stop to this?" Quatre questioned, perplexity written all over his face. "It is even inhuman to have thought of this kind of punishment in the first place."

"Sadly, it doesn't work here," Relena coolly replied, eyeing the blond coldly. "Principal Witherby had went through this once before, so don't expect any sympathy in this area. The St Hilary Challenge _is_, after all, **tradition **here and all students here are the children of parents who have studied here before. No one will lift a finger to elevate our plight, not even my dad."

"Well, we can always send her a note on Friday night to say we're withdrawing. Come Saturday morning, we'll be long gone before they can make us go with the challenge or live in that dog house," Wufei replied nonchalantly over his shoulder, as he walked past her.

"What about me?" Relena enquired desperately, turning around and looking into his back, hoping that in his tiny, black, woman-hating heart, there would be at least a pin-head point of a soft spot for her well-being.

She was so wrong in hoping for the impossible.

"None of my concern," came the uncaring response.

"That's selfish!" she cried out, unable to believe that anyone could be that hard of heart.

"And I suppose asking us to stay here so as to save your sweet little butt isn't."

On hearing those words out of his mouth, embarrassment climbed both Relena's cheeks. Taking a second look around the room and noticing for the first time, beside her own worry, the collective unease and dilemma she was causing to the rest of the group.

"I'm sorry," she apologized from the bottom of her heart, giving a bow so as to hide the embarrassment and tears brimming in her eyes. "I will deliver the message for you on Saturday morning. I hope your mission goes well." And she turned to go.

A pull on her arm restrained her from moving forwards to the door. Looking back over her shoulder, she found herself looking into a pair of familiar cobalt blue eyes that she loved so much. Heero shook his head at her and looked over to Jess.

Letting go of another sigh, and her mind objecting on the grounds of what a bad decision she was making, Jess announced with a clear voice amidst the whoops and laughter: "We're staying. Those Elites are going to eat grass by the time we're done with them."

"Alright!" Duo shouted, punching a fist in the air. "Those girls shall bow to me every time they want to speak to me!"

"That's a bright way to look at it," Quatre commented, going up to clap his buddy on the back. "I would require one or two of them to lift my hair every time I walk. I am beginning to suspect the cause of my recent neck aches is from the weight of my hair."

"Really, you don't have to do this for me . . ." Relena weakly protested, partly relieved but partly fretting that she was taking advantage of their kindness for her own selfish reasons.

"It's injustice to let someone suffer on your behalf, especially the weaker sex," Wufei reluctantly explained in a half-shout over his shoulders, back unnaturally rigid from this unfamiliar giving in. "and I'm not the kind of person to make a woman suffer on my account!" With those words being said, he marched out at a half run, slamming the door behind him.

"Oh Heee – len," Relena wailed and let her tears go, burying her face into his blouse. With a never displayed before gentleness, Heero stroked her hair and waited for her to calm down.


	67. Face off

_AN: Okie, I'm finally free from my job. Talk about overworking, I'm so glad to be out of the company. It's enough to kill my personal life, much less leave me time for a love life. Sorry about disappearing for two months. At least, now I'm free to complete this until I find a new job._

_I'll try to get the rest of the story completed but no promises._

_To all my wonderful reviewers: Raizard333, BluephoenixX, x-digitalangel-x, cherryblossoms 21, Silvermane1, Calli Maxwell, Bunny, Black Spell, Kyona Kopper, Silver Kitsune no Tenshi, Remiera, madcow, sushi18 and dragonelf 8. Miss you guys the most. Geez, you have no idea what it is like to kill your brain cells with working, day in day out. So I'm thankful for this break (no matter how short) to catch up on my writing and drawing._

On with the fic!

**Chapter 67**

The next day, the events of the beauty competition were put up for all to see. The gang had to literally push and shove their way through to get to the common notice board. Being the gentlemen that they were, the _real _girls moved in the middle. It was the _fake_ girls who did the pushing and shoving.

Quatre's heart sank when he saw who was to be his opponent. Dorothy Catalonia's name stuck out like a sore thumb against the stark white paper under the category: Fencing.

It was bad enough she was hounding him for a rematch after their supposedly "friendly match".

It'll be worse if she came after his girl side as well.

It would eradicate all hope of ever escaping the blood-thirst she had for him.

Heaving a heavy sigh, he envisioned the lovely little cottage he bought going to waste; left to ruin under the cruel changes of weather instead of becoming his little dark secret getaway when he wanted some peace and quiet, indulging in his passion for cooking and housekeeping. _(1)_

Meanwhile, Heero was frowning hard at the board, as if it would melt the paper and reshape the words from "Archery" to "Shooting". It wasn't that he had never shot an arrow before, but rather because his expertise only extended as far as a crossbow. Plus, he didn't like to see Lucy Cretion's name there either. If memory served him well, she was the best archer the school had to offer.

Peeking over his shoulder, Relena looked to see what category she fell in. She immediately regretted the effort when she found her name under Cooking. In all her life, Relena Darlian had never touched a frying pan. Much less lift a finger to prepare her meal. Her closest encounter to making something edible was to pour hot water into a cup of instant noodles. And the water had already been boiled for her to begin with. And it didn't help ease her worry to see she was up against Luanne II Opal. Though the girl was not known for her cooking skills in home economics class but at least she knew how to cook _something_.

On the other hand, two people couldn't stop grinning. Wufei let the unfamiliar strain of muscle on his lips go unchecked, for he was placed under the category of Spelling bee and Arithmetic. His opponent happened to be Katie Hormes, a scholarship student well known for her brains in school. And secretly, he had long wanted to pit his grey matter against hers since the first time he heard her answer the "Tolains Universal Theory", in response to a question posed in an advanced general knowledge competition two weeks ago.

She was everything he could want in woman that was compatible to him in every way. Unlike a certain someone standing next to him, providing no challenge (other than what makes a woman on the surface) and forcing him to degrade his wonderfully high intellect down to a ridiculous low level so that she could at least advance to a higher level of learning.

As always in her own little world when she was in a dilemma and ignorant of her _sister's_ thoughts, Jess thought hard on what instrument she could play that could impress anybody. Never mind she was up against some girl called Sopie Evertones, or that her musical knowledge only extended to a flute and a piano. It was the depth that worried her. For a flute, she only knew how to play doh, re, me and the note ti, which would more likely cause a headache than wow anyone. For a piano, at least she could play "doh a deer" song, but she didn't know how to end the song other than stopping abruptly.

'_Or maybe,'_ she thought, brightening up immediately, _'I could just play softer and softer until it seems like it fades off.'_

On seeing her smile brightly after much frowning, Wufei lost his own smile and started to worry.

Duo, on the other hand, was extremely pleased to see that his Category was Gymnastics. All his years of being a thief in alleyways had taught him quite a few things like vaulting, flips and somersaults, which could be quite difficult for anyone who has a fear of pain and daredevil antics. Plus, he was pretty certain Evelyn Havens was no match for his underhand tricks. One thing he noticed in this school was that no one could do more than ruin a person's reputation with words and a touch of low level stealing. With Duo Maxwell, no one would know he was the culprit except for a certain few who knew him well, but in this situation, he might even get applauded for such slyness.

As if that day was cursed, the Elites made their appearance. At least the ones who were suppose to challenge them on the grounds other than "Swim Suit" and "Dancing" which happened to be a group effort. On seeing the Elites, the swamp of girls parted as if their presence were something to be revered.

Dorothy marched to the front of the group, her eyes set on her target. At a hand's length away, Quatre couldn't help but notice the long silken hair that looked like fine spurn silk threads, or her willowy slim figure that the uniform emphasized or her skin looking as smooth and white as fresh milk. Why, if he continued looking, he would even consider her beautiful, perhaps even gorgeous . . .

"You remind me of some midget, feminine, most certainly gay if you ask me, guy that I once fought," she announced.

. . . Until she opened that mouth of hers.

Unaware of who she was really speaking to, Dorothy continued on, making full use of her height and staring him down : "Just looking at you pisses me off. So when I beat you real bad on that day, you have to blame that arrogant, little snit of a boy."

If there weren't so many onlookers watching them, Quartre would have thrown all caution to the wind and wringed her stick-like neck then and there. Heck, as Duo so adequately described to Sally, he was beginning to look forward to the day and whip her scrawny little butt real bad instead.

Then Sopie Evertones head popped out from behind Dorothy to look for her competitor. Once her eyes alighted on Jess, she asked: "Have you decided on what instrument you intend to play?"

"Huh? Oh! The piano."

Immediately, all eyes were suddenly looking in her direction.

"You **sure**?" Her _sister's_ question practically dripped with skepticism.

"Well there's the flute . . . But I only know how to play four notes . . ." Immediately, the mood of the group plunged even deeper.

On hearing that, Sopie Evertones clapped her hands in delight and let out a squeal of pleasure. Then moving forward, she seized Jess's hand and said: "I shall look forward to Saturday. Do play the best you can. It'll be even more wonderful if you could play some _original_ pieces."

Pretty stunned by this unexpected reaction, Jess could only respond with a blink: "Ha . . . h." Missing entirely the agonized looks that crossed the rest of her group members' faces.

Meanwhile, invisible electric sparks flew between Heero and his competitor. One could see that both persons were gearing up for D-day, where they would officially face off with each other on the "battlefield". Lucy Cretion was known for her short temper and equally short, cutting words. She was a girl of few words but when she was on the field, she let her actions do the talking. Quiet a lot like Heero with similar hopes that the opponent was good but not as good as herself.

"Crossbow?" Heero spoke, not about to let the opportunity slip by.

"In your dreams."

"You're on."

"HA!"

And that was the end of their conversation much to the bewilderment of the people surrounding them.

"What just happened?" Jess asked, watching the two who did an about face turn and marched off in opposite directions.

"Never you mind," her _"sister"_ answered half-heartedly, his attention on a mousy, plain-looking girl, looking out at the world through thick, round, spectacles. As if each person understood the strength of the opponent each was facing, they acknowledged each other with a solemn nod.

Jess immediately gave up on trying to understand what transpired and decided to keep her attention on Relena and Duo. At least, they seemed to be acting exactly as girls should in a competition.

Duo was trying to out brag his opponent by, well . . . , bragging. They were both describing to each other, at the top of their voices, how beautiful and graceful their flips were and how high they could vault over the vaulting horse, etc, etc, etc. This would have gone on all day if Relena and her competitor hadn't had their fill of looking each other up and down and measuring the worth of her rival.

All in all, when Relena left the field to trail after Heero's footsteps that was a signal to them to leave their opponents behind and regroup for another discussion. Duo reluctantly trailing last with the parting shot: "You will be manicuring my nails come Sunday!"

So no one noticed an armored little jeep, bearing the logo of The Federation, pulling up in the driveway of St Hilary's compound.

* * *

"A beauty contest?" Treize all but choked on his words.

"That's right," the plump lady across the desk answered, her jeweled rings glittering madly in the sunlight pouring in from the window. "I believe they are vying for the hand of Karl Otheallo."

"Are you certain?"

"Positively. And may I enquire who are the gentlemen behind you?" Principal Witherby pointed out, her unease heightened by the group of men, carrying guns and clubs, standing at attention behind the dashing young officer who identified himself as their commander.

"Would you believe their fiancées?" Treize muttered under his breath, contemplating that perhaps he had made a mistake after all.

"_PARDON?"_

"A . . . um . . . I meant to say that they have an interest in the girls. Well, those who aren't interested in this Karl . . . I mean to ask, are those girl all vying for this Karl person's hand?"

That earned him a suspicious look from the principal. Plus a lot of daggers staring in his back from his men; for he had earlier debriefed them that they were the wanted boys in disguise.

"No . . ." she answered cautiously, never taking her eyes off him. "Just Wuling Lee and Catherine Meldor."

"Perfect."

"You do realize that there will be an immediate engagement party after the competition, right?" Principal Witherby asked slowly, her eyes looking penetrating at the young man across from her.

If anything, Treize was definitely entirely confused.

"Who?" he asked, unable to stop the question from escaping his lips.

"Wuling Lee."

"I have been brought up in St Edwins and I have never heard of such an addition before. I thought it only deals with dating the blo . . . lady." Treize hurriedly amended his last words but the Principal was already onto his poor lapse in vocabulary. It earned him a withering look of scorn.

"I apologize," he quickly said. _Once a teacher, always a teacher. You couldn't pull a fast one over them_. That was one fact Treize remembered very well from his schooling days. Either you apologize or suffer the consequences.

Nodding gravely as an acceptance, the principal continued: "It wasn't my idea. It was the young gentleman's, in fact. He had a great deal of confidence that she would win."

Treize tried hard not to laugh. He had done his research before and to believe that this "Wuling" could win against the Meldor's daughter was like a cow trying to outshine a phoenix in brilliance.

"So I guess that the other girls are up for grabs, yes?" Treize pressed on, trying his best to ignore the murderous aura that was building up behind him.

"Oh no. Whether they win or not, it does not matter for Dorine Raceland and Quarisa Lauther. They have been specially selected by Ronald Fenalle and David Bluestone for brides. They will be holding their engagement on the same day as their best friend."

"That would leave . . ."

"Helen Raceland and Weiling Lee. The two sisters," the Principal graciously supplied.

"Ah . . . Please book them for my men. I would submit the names for contenders of their hands come Saturday," Treize answered as he got out of his chair, ignoring the dark atmosphere hankering down on his shoulders, courtesy from his men. If he risked looking at them now, their black faces might just kill him.

"A pleasure meeting you," he said, as he shook the hand of the principal. He got no reply in return. Obviously the principal did not think it was a pleasure meeting him.

Treize held his ground until he and his men were in the jeep and on the highway heading back to the headquarters. Secretly, he was glad that none of them raised a commotion when he suggested that they might end up being engaged to a couple of boys. He would have to instruct the cook to add an additional sausage to their plate for tonight's dinner as a way of thanks.

"Ah . . . Sir?" Aaron, the talker of the group, broached the subject. Treize had been waiting for this moment and turned up his charm to maximum.

"Yes?" he answered with as much pleasantness as possible.

"Didn't you say . . ."

"Yes, well . . . I could have been wrong and they might really be a bunch of girls."

"But . . . We really are uncomfortable being engage to . . . I mean what if . . ."

"That, my fine friend, is easy. Engagements can be broken after all. It's not uncommon, you know. Besides, if they turn out to be real girls, isn't it an added plus on your side? You shall have a wife. Didn't you always mourn that no one was gonna marry a beat up soldier like yourself?"

He could see he had hit the bull spot for each man's face brightened. After all, engagements were made and broken by men. Once made, the female would have no power to reject with the military supporting in the background. And it was always a grim fact that no one would want to marry a lowly soldier with a face like Frankenstein. His men had faces and bodies hardened and scarred by war. To marry was a dream that was barely beyond their grasp. To marry into a rich family was impossible.

Now they had an option.

"I want the Weiling girl," the one called Derrick shouted, jumping up in his excitement.

"No way. I want her," other voices shouted back in response. It seems among his men, the favorite out of the two remaining was the little black haired "female" he had an encounter with.

"What's wrong with Helen?" he questioned, knowing fully well why but still wanting to hear the answer.

"No offence, Sir, but she looks like a boy even if she is really a lady. I don't think my stomach can take that."

"If she is a wonderful cook?"

"I'll take her then," the slightly plump Ian quipped, his eyes sparkling.

"Wonderful. Then it's settled. Ian for Helen and the rest of you for Weiling," he cheerfully concluded, clasping his hand together for finality.

'_Too bad they won't know you'll be contending for Weiling as well,'_ a tiny voice in his head spoke as he looked out the windshield to muse whether Weiling was really a female or not.

Author's Proclamation:

_(1) The address given to the school was the address of the little cottage that Quatre bought._


	68. Practising

_AN: I'm feeling a bit down so that's why I'm writing this chapter. Writing always has an effect of cheering me up._

_But first, I would like to thank my ever-consistent, enduring reviewers for their encouragements: Raizard333, Calli Maxwell, Sukeishima, Bunny, Chikara-Yuy, Remiera, Shini no Tenshi, Athene Saile, dragonelf 8, MysticChaos, x-digitalangel-x, Silver Kitsune No Tenshi and Luciferian aka cryearthstearsfalltou. Good to hear from you wonderful people. Miss you all sooooo much._

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 68**

Tempers started running high when the gang realized that they had only three days to perform up to standard. Duo learned the hard way that Gymnastics didn't consist solely of leaping from one pole to another, doing some somersaults or vaulting over objects.

"I have to plan on how I want to do my flips, somersaults and vaulting to some music like a performing monkey?" he burst out on understanding that _that_ was what Trowa wanted him to do first and foremost.

That question raised an eyebrow.

"No offence pal, but you're making it into some kind of circus act," Duo brushed it off before walking away. The eyebrow dropped and the eyes narrowed to slits. If anything, Trowa hated his circus to be compared to some freak show for entertainment.

"Well, if you're so against music, might as well move on to aerobatics," he suggested calmly, halting the boy in mid-step. "It's gymnastics in mid-air after all."

"Hey, I said no offence, pal . . ." the brown-haired boy repeated, turning around and marching back to look his friend straight in the eye.

"And who would want to watch a boring one-time routine that looks like any amateur practice?" Trowa, in a matter-of-fact voice, questioned. "At least with Aerobatics, you'll be playing with death even if the music isn't on."

"Hey, I may like risks but I ain't suicidal. That's right up He-chan's alley," the American snapped back, looking rather prudish. "Whatever she's doing, I can do better!"

"Really?" and Trowa pulled back the curtain to reveal the other half of the Gymnasium where Miss Evelyn had finished her warm ups and was getting ready to go into one of her practice routines.

On seeing Trowa, she gave a squeal of delight. That squeal died on her lips the moment she spotted her competitor.

"Raceland," she acknowledged rather stiffly, because years of good upbringing didn't allow otherwise.

Duo just gave slight nod in return and scowled at his friend. The last thing he needed was to be accused by a whole gang of girls on copying before the actual day. And thanks to Trowa's action, he couldn't even do something that was even similar to her warm ups!

"Continue," the young red-haired adult instructed, waving a hand in dismissal.

"But . . . but Teacher . . ."

"Don't worry, if she does copy your moves, I'll pull her out of the contest."

'_So much for friendship,'_ Duo fumed inside, feeling his blood boil, _'I don't even need enemies if I consider him a friend.'_

That brought a smile to her face, and a mile of confidence too. For the girl tilted her chin up at Duo with the words: "Oh, don't worry. This isn't the competition performance. Just one of my normal _stretching_ routines."

Then with a graceful downward side swing of her leg, she hit the play button with her big toe. The nutcracker music started to fill the air as she threw in Trowa's direction a sweet angelic smile, which he returned in kind.

Seeing such an exchange passed between the two of them, Duo took the chance to express how he felt. His action of mock throwing up was greatly ignored by the girl for she moved to swing herself gracefully up onto the parallel poles, draping herself over one pole while a hand caressed the other pole. Then, as the music went down, she plunged down off the pole and swung up onto the other in a perfect 360 degree using the caressing hand and her leg for momentum, never once touching the ground.

Then danging from the pole with one leg over and the opposing hand for balance, she moved her free hand forwards in time to the music of the rat king's approach and as the music climaxed, she gripped the opposite pole hard, went down under forwards to swing up into a handstand on the pole. Her form showing all the young and supple muscles to the best advantage as she held herself erect upside down on the pole.

As the music started to play a slow note on the violin, she lowered her legs down as if her body could fold in on itself, and stood up like a ballerina, balancing on the curve of her soles. Then as the music continued in it's slow, soothing rhythm, she did a slow back flip coupled by a stand hand where her legs swung up before coming forth in a wide arc, aligning itself with the pole horizon.

Then the music went to alternating between fast and slow and she moved in-between the poles, her back flips, double flips and poles circling alternating in time with the music before finally coming to the climax where the drums signaled the finale and she gathered her strength, pushed off from the end and did a rotating back-front somersault to land triumphantly before the poles with her hands stretched out.

Despite his reluctance, Duo couldn't stop himself from joining Trowa in clapping. Meanwhile, the girl, face blushing with exertion from the earlier exercise, bounced up to Trowa, her eyes shining with hopefulness as she asked his opinion on her performance.

"Excellent," he complimented and she squealed with delight again, clasping her cheeks in her hands.

Then noticing the unwilling admiration on her rival's face, she threw her nose up in the air, let a smug smile show on her lips and walked away. Satisfaction oozing out from every step she took. They watched in silence as she gathered her things, switched off her radio, blew a shy kiss in Trowa's direction and went out the door.

"Well, someone have been winning ladies hearts . . ." Duo started, a hand raising up to slap his friend on the back. "Aren't you the sly dog . . ."

His slap never connected with his friend's back. Trowa had simply walked away to push the curtain aside and restore the gym to its original size.

Once he had the door locked against any new entries, he turned to the puzzled boy, ignoring his earlier remark about his social life, and questioned in a deadpan voice: "Aerobatics or Gymnastics?"

"Any other options? Strip tease perhaps?"

Glare

_Sigh . . ._

"Gymnastics. Bring in the chimpanzees."

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Meanwhile, in the music room, Jess was doing her own usual routine with her "sister". Bickering.

"For the last time, this is a F note! You hit this key to get the note!"

"Who cares if it is an F note? I only know there are notes from Doh to Ti which I'm sure this note says is Fa!"

"Well . . . I CARE! I want THIS note, NOT this note!"

"Miser, have you counted the lines? I'm CERTAIN this note is Fa and this KEY is definitely Fa!"

"You ignorant, little pipsqueak fool! I'm talking about the TONE of the note. Stop thinking they are one octave. That note is Fa in F TONE! "

"Well . . . If you said it earlier like that, I WOULDN'T HAVE MISUNDERSTOOD WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO GET AT!"

At that, both people turned and faced their backs to each other, breathing deeply from the effort used in shouting at the top of their voices at each other.

"I don't like you," Jess announced once she got her breath back.

"Ha! What do you know? The feeling is mutual," came the mocking response.

"I want Quarisa!"

"I sure wish likewise," she heard her sister mutter.

"Heh? Then why are you here trying to coach me? Shouldn't it be her instead?"

"Do you have holes in your memory or something?"

"Let me see. You just walked into the room and said: "I'm your coach. Let's get started." And you expect me to deduce _everything_ from those two lines?"

"What so hard about understanding she can't make it?"

"I believe there's something called _Reason. _In another sense of the word: _Explanation._ Or there is always that simpler way of putting it: **WHY?**"

"Two words: Dorothy Catalonia."

"So?"

"Fencing. Besides, comparing you and Relena, it's not hard to see why she chose her over you."

"What have Relena got to do with this? And what have she got that I don't?"

"For starters, they both can exchange skills sets."

"Oh, and I can't?"

"Must I spell everything out for you? Wait, don't answer," he quickly added, throwing up a hand in the air. "Relena knows fencing and Quarisa's cooking is passable, unlike yours. They'll both benefit from this trade off if they partner together. With you, he wouldn't even have the time to practice. You're like in . . . beginner stage."

"That's because I **am** a beginner!"

"Number two, Relena likes being near Helen. While fencing, Helen will be in another corner or room practicing Archery. Number Three, she's beautiful."

"That last one is uncalled for."

"No harm in stating the obvious," Wufei returned, clearly gloating away. He immediately regretted that for the bench suddenly gave way under him, depositing him to the ground on his butt in a most unpleasant manner.

"Hey! What gives?" he barked at her as he twisted his head around, only to realize she had left the bench and was stalking to the door with pounding steps.

'_Oh wonderful! I tease her other days and she acts fine. Today, she have to go all ladylike on me with the lacy frills included._' He sulkily thought, getting up and dusting the back of his maroon uniform. _'Women! Just when you think you finally got the grasp of them, they go and change it.'_ Then after righting the piano bench, he quickly went after her to undo the damage he had done.

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Heero wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. From the looks of things, he was about 3 inches away from the bull's eye shot. Not bad for a ten hours practice by his estimation. Maybe he should get that nice snack he had been thinking about since midnight last night. And maybe that small little nap since he had already forgone last night's rest.

While Heero was contemplating between a five-hours and a three-hours nap, Quatre and Relena were practicing their fencing, but with half-heartedness. Their main attention was focused on the clueless boy still holding the bow.

"Do you think he will go rest now?" a worried Relena questioned, her sword missing Quatre's by an inch. Not that they cared. A Heero with blood-shot eyes, hair messier than usual and posture stooping with fatigue certainly could cause worry in anyone, stranger or not.

"Why don't you go and coax him?" Quatre suggested, lowering his sword, letting the end lightly touch the ground.

"I can't. He might get stubborn and decide to continue instead."

"Well . . . I am certainly not having the heart to practice now. Care to learn how to make an American breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast?" Quatre asked, speaking loud enough for Heero to hear what was being said.

"Of course. I was beginning to think you will never ask." Relena replied likewise, catching onto Quatre's idea. "How long will that take?"

"Oh, if you're fast, a good 15 minutes," the blond answered, giving his accomplice a sly wink.

On hearing what was in store for him, Heero dropped the bow and dashed out the door, making for his room for a quick shower. Meanwhile, both Quatre and Relena shared a smile before marching to the back of the room to return the equipment.


	69. Settlement

_AN: Continuation . . . getting interesting. . ._

_Btw, I know this is a late update but I was dump with practically everything to set up the Christmas party in my church for the Choir. Urgh! I don't think I wanna go through that kind of experience again. _

_To my fave reviewers, many thanks to : Raizard333, cherryblossoms21, Calli Maxwell, Bunny, MysticChaos, Dream Keeper, Remiera, Sukeishima, Jessica Rabbit21, Silver Kitsune no Tenshi and dragonelf 8. Here's wishing you all a Merry Christmas and I have uploaded two chapters instead of one for a Christmas gift. (Partly as an apology for the late update.) Ok, wish you all happy hols and a hearty new year! Enjoy . . ._

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 69**

Heero had just picked up his fork and was about to tuck into a plate of freshly cooked bacon and eggs (made by Quatre because Relena burnt hers to a crisp) when they heard raised voices in the hallway.

"Good gracious, that sounds like the Chinese sisters!" Quatre muttered under his breath as he hurried out the doorway to pull them in before they attracted any attention. He reappeared in the doorway, tugging Jess in after him with a sulky Wufei following closely behind.

"Take a seat, take a seat," he told Wufei in an absent-minded way as he made Jess comfortable at the table, directly across from Heero. Then he hurriedly ushered his partner to the stove to whip up more bacon and eggs, albeit more practice for her.

"Hn." Heero gave his usual greeting, partly out of habit and partly because his mouth was full with food.

He received a nod from Wufei in acknowledgement but no reply from Jess. That caught his attention and made him pause in his eating to contemplate her unusual behavior.

"Hn?" he prompted, using a foot to gently nudge hers under the table.

"She called me ugly!" the girl angrily accused, turning her back to her "sister".

"Wuling!" Quatre chided from his position at the stove, a disapproving expression registering on his face.

"Wha . . . ? I never . . . That's one big fat lie!" Wufei desperately tried to defend himself but a lot of good that did for the girl burst into tears and hid her face onto the table surface. He started receiving accusing looks from everyone. Even Heero was giving him the _look_, conveying on his normally unreadable face, what he thought about his ungentlemanly behavior.

"You may not like girls, Wufei," Quatre said quietly as he left the stove to approach the poor boy, "but it is highly improper to tell a girl she is ugly even if she is."

He immediately regretted his choice of words for the girl gave a short scream and renewed her efforts in crying even harder.

"I take it back, I take it back! I didn't mean to say you're ugly . . ." Quatre pleaded as he crouched down beside her chair. Meanwhile Wufei let out a snort of contempt to the irony of the situation. If he hadn't been unjustly accused and disbelieved in his defense, he might have laughed instead.

On seeing where this was going to and that the girl wasn't going to stop wailing any time soon, Heero went back to eating and Relena to her frying; since Heero's stomach was her first priority, and just maybe the girl would cheer up when food was placed in front of her.

Meanwhile, exhausting all methods of apologizing, Quatre went on to coaxing: "I'll call you sweet if you like. You like the peppermint sweets from the Choc & Delights store, don't you? I'll buy you a huge packet . . . Please stop crying, you really are a pretty little girl. That was just a careless slip of tongue . . . Bad me, bad me!" And a light slapping of his cheeks accompanied those last words, much to the disgust of a certain women-hater.

Deciding he had enough of hearing her sobs and watching her make a monkey out of his friend, Wufei finally announced aloud to the room: "Look, just because I told her Relena was beautiful, that doesn't equate her to being ugly . . ."

**Sponk!**

If it wasn't for Wufei's quick reflexes, honed by the recent months of battles, the fork Heero threw would have sunk its teeth into his nose instead of the cast iron base of his Saucepan of Justice.

"Will you let me finish?" he irritably asked, despite having some reservations about testing the waters of his friend's patience. "I have no intention or interest in your girl! So put that spoon and butter down if you please. The last thing I need is to send this uniform to dry cleaning again."

With one final warning glare, Heero resumed his eating. Meanwhile, Relena bended over to adjust the fire so that her face was hidden from view as well as the blush that had stolen over her cheeks. After all, a compliment from Wufei was as good as one hundred girls praising her beauty.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Wufei continued, returning the glare at his friend, "Beauty is a highly subjective interpretation. Each and every person has a different definition of what makes beauty. Sometimes, a combination of white skin and black hair coupled with large, brown almond eyes. Or blond hair with strawberry highlights, coupled with a pinkish hue of the skin, or . . ."

"So am I pretty or not?" came the most uncomfortable question Wufei had ever encountered in his life. It robbed him of every single thought for a good full minute.

"Well?" the girl prompted when he remained silent, her expression suggesting Wufei had better give the right answer or face retribution.

Now here was an interesting dilemma. Tell her she was pretty and have everyone give him snide looks until she went back or tell her she was plain and face ultimate womandom torture for the rest of his stay here?

Wufei suddenly wondered if he could put his foot further into his mouth, preferably the whole leg as well.

'_Come on . . . ! Think!' _He urged his brain to work faster on a solution that gave neither an answer nor help him dig a deeper grave.

Taking a sweeping look around the room, he noticed everyone's eyes, except the girl's whose eyes were still red and puffy from crying, start to gleam in a really interested way. Not a good sign by his standards.

"As you know, I'm not a good person to judge beauty . . ." He started, pulling at his neckline to let in some air for he was starting to swelter under the collar.

"Who cares if you are a good judge or not. She is asking **your** opinion on whether _you _think she is pretty or not," Quatre sweetly intervene, clearly enjoying his friend's discomfort. From that slight upturn of his chin, and mischievous glint in his eye, Wufei could tell this was payback for making him go through the date with David and abandoning him along the way.

"You must be joking!"

"She's got a point you know," this time the remark came from Relena and Wufei swerved his head in her direction, ready to express what he thought of her ideas, only to find her scrapping out the burnt remains of another failed breakfast.

"I'm listening . . ." the girl pushed, now giving him that sly smile that she only used when she knew she had him trapped.

"Hn," Heero agreed, breakfast forgotten and leaning forward to hear his answer.

"Well . . ." he began, feeling his whole body go stiff with tension. "She is . . . pppprru . . . . . . ."

"Yeah . . . ?"

". . . Preee . . ."

"Go on . . ."

"Plulpppt . . ."

"Just spit the darn thing out!" Heero commanded, feeling his patience break.

"Plain."

"Plain . . . ?" Quatre echoed, looking appalled.

"**Plain?**" Jess repeated, the fire in her igniting again. "How dare you . . ."

"I dare!" Wufei challenged, feeling better now that everything was out in the clear. After all, how long would they be in the school? Two weeks? Three weeks?

"Even Quaria's slip of tongue should be a clue that he feels exactly the way I do about you. Probably even worse considering that he unconsciously admitted you're ugly. . ." He continued, throwing a conspiring wink in the blond's direction.

"No, no! That's not true! I was purely not thinking when I said that . . . Will you stop distracting her!" Quatre yelled at Wufei, realizing that this was just a ploy to pull him down with him.

"Besides," Wufei continued, putting on a cheery face, "Being called plain is a step up from being ugly."

'_And sooooo many steps away from being pretty . . .'_ a small voice added with much delight, despite a small prick of conscience at the furthest end of his thoughts.

Feeling a need to at least walk away with some pride, Jess decided to tell a lie.

"If you must know," she said, arranging her face into what she hoped was a proud look and not a dead giveaway, "I happen to have many interested **suitors **back home."

"What are they? Blind?" the boy mocked back.

"Ha ha, very funny."

Then bending down so his face was level with hers, he gave her a lazy smile and offered: "Tell you what. If anybody, other than us people gathered here, calls you beautiful, I'll do your homework for a week."

Just then, Duo made an appearance with Trowa, which was rare because the most sought after hunk in the school had a fan club ready to exterminate anyone who got close to him.

"Hey Relena, looking gorgeous as always. Can I have your bacon, sis?" Then noticing something queer, Duo questioned his friend: " Quarisa . . . why are you crouching on the floor . . . Beautiful! What happened?" With concern written all over his face, he came forward to crowd around Jess with Trowa.

On hearing Duo utter **the word**, everyone's mouth stretched into a grin. Only one person's mouth contracted and shrank into a disgruntled pout. But Duo had the biggest surprise; for the girl reached out and hugged him around the waist.

"Whoa! What happened to that no-body-contact-between-opposite-sexes culture? Or rather, what did I do right this time?" Duo asked, dropping a hand over her head and ruffling her hair in a comforting way.

Taking a side-glance at her own "sister's" sour face, Jess answered with a big smile: "Oh, this one's an exception. It's thanks for being you."


	70. And the competition begins!

**Chapter 70**

The day drew near and finally it arrived.

No onein the gang was thorough prepared and as the hours became minutes and the minutes became seconds, the butterflies in their stomachs increased.

"The contest is about to start and Du . . . I mean Dorine is taking her own sweet little time doing her makeup?" Heero questioned the intelligence of his partner for the umpteen time as he peered out from behind the stage curtain.

"Actually, he's taking a sneak peek at our rivals costumes. I hear they are wearing the micro-mini bunny bikini suits to up the votes," Quatre answered as he batted away the tail feathers of the Ostrich costume on Wufei who had accidentally slapped it into his face.

"Of all the things that could happen to me, I could've been out there gawking at girls. But no . . . I have to **be **the one being gawked at," they heard Wufei mutter under his breath.

"Wufei, you hate girls," Quatre reminded him, giving up the fight with the ostrich feathers and deciding to move three steps back.

"So my perspective have changed now that I'm here on this ridiculous metal construct of a stage, in this ridiculous getup."

Taking in Wufei's full figure, the tantalizing feathers protruding from the one piece black swimming wear, the black lace garters and the cute black ear muffs that he was wearing, Quatre decided that just nodding in agreement instead of arguing that the "girl" was really sexy, would save his teeth. After all, he would need it in his fight to throw Dorothy off balance.

"Look on the bright sight," Quatre cheerily added, switching the subject swiftly, "at least we're over the bikini wax."

"I refuse to remember such an indignity! Whoever thought that we must go through such a humiliating and excruciating process shall pay!" At that, Quatre decided to just shut up and let the boy sulk in peace. After all, he felt a little sore himself. And it wouldn't be very favorable for the girls during the competition to have someone from their side, throwing invisible daggers at them as well. Out of the corner of his eyes, he also noticed Heero twitching uncomfortably at the mere mention of the wax, and knew it was something none of them would ever dare togo throughagain.

"Hello ladies," a familiar happy voice called out, cutting through the unpleasant haze of thoughts on the horrors women tortured themselves with for a date. "What's with all the gloom and doom?"

"About time!" Heero muttered, moving away from the curtain to look at his "sister". The rest of his lecture stuck in his throat and mouths dropped for Duo's and the girls' mid-drifts were showing. In fact, the one piece had become a two-piece bikini. A micro-mini one at that.

"Wha . . .?" a simply stunned Wufei blubbered.

"Let's just say competition is going classic for their side," he answered, throwing each of the boys a black string bikini. Take your tail feathers off and pass to Jess and Relena. They know how to glue them on."

"Du . . . Dorine! The competition is about to start!" Quatre freaked, looking appalled at the unremorseful stealer.

Raising a cheeky eyebrow, the American boy question nonchalantly: "So? It's fashionably good to be late. By the way, those are Dorothy's."

_Over at the other side_

"Hey, hotdog man! One hotdog please!" A little brunette wearing think glasses raised up his hand and called the older boy over, who was wearing a striped red and white hat with a white apron and carrying a box filled with hotdogs.

Karl could feel a sneaky smile start on his lips and tried to refrain himself. With the hotdogs and negotiations coming along, no one was going to defeat his girl's team. Not even Miss Perfect of St Hilary.

Turning to the unsuspecting victim, Karl Otheallo marched over to intimidate the younger and smaller boy.

"See this?" he questioned, hold out the coin with his family crest on it. The boy gulped and nodded nervously.

"What say I'm interested to buy your vote for a certain Miss Wuling . . . , my fiancée?"

"Your fiancée . . . ? But that not ascertain . . ."

"Well, I'm making it certain. What say you to a hotdog and a twenty, my good chap?"

"What you're doing is akin to bribery . . ."

"You want the damn hotdog or not?" the older boy intoned, dropping his voice to a threatening whisper.

"I take it! I take it!" the younger boy immediately agreed, reaching out for the food.

"Twenty's inside," was Karl's parting shot as he walked away. To his left, he could see his two friends busy at work to secure the votes for the love of their lives. Things were looking really good if everybody kept to their deal. After all, who would dare to double cross an Otheallo? To go against him would mean hell for them for the rest of their lives, for his family controlled a sizeable number of federal colonies.

Smiling to himself, Karl started to look for his next victim.

_half an hour later_

All of them were finally ready with feathers, bikinis and chairs.

"Hn?" Heero questioned as Duo handed out each of them a pair scissors. Meanwhile, Relena and Jess started blushing furiously.

"You don't suppose . . ." Jess whispered to Relena from across Heero.

"I hope not. She is not leading, is she?" Relena urgently whispered back.

Then much to everyone's dismay, Duo grabbed his chair and walked out onto stage with the words thrown over his shoulder: "Follow me."

"Who's in-charge of music and choreographing?" Jess desperately asked when Duo came back and pulled her out. She quickly grabbed hold of Heero, who grabbed hold of Relena, who in turn grabbed hold of Quatre and likewise, he grabbed hold of Wufei.

"Nh."

"Don't look at me."

"Wasn't me."

"Uh-huh."

Then realization hit them all.

"Ah SHOOT! Let me go! This is indignity we're talking here. Ultimate humiliation! I rather lose this competition than lose my pride!" Wufei yelled as he struggled in Quatre's grip.

"You tell Relena to release me then."

"Heero!"

"Hn . . ." Heero nudged Jess, the tone conveying a huge hope in his word.

"No way! If I'm going down, all of you are coming with me!"

And then they were all out in the sunlight, facing an excited roaring crowd of two thousand boys.

"We're doomed!" Wufei mourned into his hands once they were free.

"Lay off the bikini!" Jess warned the American as he draped himself across his chair.

"Yeah, yeah. Now think . . . alluring," he shot back to the whole gang.

Those were the last words said before "I'm too sexy" song came on in stereo.

_Back over at the boys' side_

"Whoa . . ." David remarked, dropping a hand on Ronald's shoulder. "Your girl is hot!"

"Told you I have a good eye for women," came the proud reply with a puffing out of chest.

Not liking what he heard, David commented on: "But my girl is the cutest."

"She's struggling to take off that ostrich feather while detangling her hair from it."

"Precisely."

"Excellent cleavage then," Ronald finally gave in and gave his friend the much-wanted compliment he was prompting to hear.

On hearing that, David turned around, faced the crowd with a scowl and commanded: "Stop looking!" Meanwhile, his friend shook his head and concentrated his attention on his target.

_Back on the girl's side again_

With a mixture of disbelieve, amazement and shock, they watched as Duosashayed front, plucked off one feather and threw it into the crowd. The boys went crazy over the feather.

"Come on," he urged out of the side of his mouth when no one stepped forward to do likewise, giving Jess a good glare when she remained rooted to the spot.

Breaking out of her reverie, Jess took tentative steps to the edge. She could see she was receiving some very measuring looks from those closest to her. Praying that this was just really a dream and that maybe she would wake up in hospital at this very moment, Jess proceeded to remove the feather.

Only to find she had did an excellent job on gluing it onto the bottom.

She started to panic as Duo moved away to return to his chair and Heero, on the other hand, was moving up to join her.

'_Come on . . . come out, stupid . . .' _she thought, tugging at a feather frantically.

**Rip!**

It was then that Jess decided that she had enough feathers plucking for one day.

_Boy's side_

Treize watched as the girl called Weiling started moving backward,desperately tying the feather she was trying to pluck out a moment ago, around her hips. He couldn't help but smile for guessing was one of his fortes as a strategist. Without a doubt, he could expect she wasn't going to show her back to the audience for the rest of the performance.

Just standing in the crowd of youngsters and wearing his old uniform, Treize couldn't help but recall the good old times when he was truly a student of the school. Why, the way Karl Otheallo worked, reminded him of his foolhardy days where he did a similar thing fora girl. Except he saved money by solely threatening the whole school over the intercom. In the end, he dumped the girl and went out with her rival.

With a quick glance around, he saw his men looking forlorn at the taken girls. And who could blame them? The girl called Helen, simply pulled out all her feathers at one go and hurled it at the crowd with a devil-may-care attitude. Plus, she turned and marched back to her seat, totally opposite from the sexy swaying walk of her sister's. For Relena Darlian, any idiot would know she was off limits, since she was a daughter of a high-ranking official in the Federation. So for those who seek her hand, only the ones who are on par with her status and wealth could vie for such an honor. To a normal soldier, she was an impossibility to get.

Not to mention, Treize had accidentally let it slip that he was going to submit his name for Weiling's hand. Not one of them would dare to contend with him for her, thus leaving Helen for the usual sacrificial goat.

"Her cooking better be good," he heard Ian mumble under his breath and it didn't take a genius to figure out what he was thinking. Treize hid a smile behind his hand and pretended he hadn't heard a word.

Meanwhile, Karl slid up to Ronald and asked: "How is it going?"

With a shrug of shoulders, his childhood friend answered: "My girl's leading, David's love is moulting feathers and yours seem to be plucking herself for dinner with much distaste."

"Wonderful!"

"Are you out of your freaking mind? If we didn't bribe half the school, they'll be a laughing stock."

"You're imagining too much . . ."

"No? Karl, wake up! Except for my girl (which is performing very well), your girl's _sister_ looks rather robotic following my girl, while that Helen lady has torn off her garters and is trashing it with the chair. Miss Relena is struggling to stop Helen from acting as such, David's love has her hair stuck on both chair, feathers and looks a fright, and your fiancée is simply sitting down with one leg crossed over a knee and shaking it like some gangster. Which part is imagining too much?"

"Well . . ."

"You know Miss Meldor won't be giving that kind of show," his friend darkly warned, "And we don't have any more cash and hotdogs to bribe the other half of the school."

"What do you expect me to do?"

"Pray for a miracle or get ready for an engagement with Catherine Meldor."


	71. Fighting Cook

_AN: Again I'm sorry this update is late. I had writer's block. Not to mention that I had to practice my drawing (took up art class), and I didn't want to compromise you guys on the quality of my work (I hope it's still good). Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter. It was written over a space of 3 weeks. _

_But first, to my beloved reviewers who NEVER fail to read and review, a special thanks to: Calli Maxwell, Raizard333, MysticChaos, Bunny, Black Spell, SAGA123, Silver Kitsune No Tenshi and dragonelf 8. You guys absolutely rock! Thanks for all the reviews and suggestions that make my day complete and gives me the satisfaction of being a writer for this fic. _

_And I see the newbies: Animequeensaphira, Remichan and Sukeishima, I appreciate the effort and hope you will continue to enjoy future chapters. _

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 71**

As soon as the song ended on its abrupt finish, everyone rushed for the sanctuary the stage curtain provided. That is except Duo who exited to the cheers and wolf whistles from the excited crowd, all the while blowing kisses towards them, like a professional beauty queen.

"If anyone, ANYONE, is from my planet out there, I swear I am going to strangle _someone_!" Wufei stated, glaring hard at the culprit who sashayed past, as if he was innocent of what transpired a moment ago.

Meanwhile, Heero wondered if there was any way he could let the rest of the school know they weren't really blood related. Maybe let it slip somewhere, start a rumor, gossip a bit, never mind it would actually mean **talking**. His obscurity in the school was at stake here. Plus he had better bribe the stingy principal to open up a new room: the further his "sister" was physically away from him, the lesser they would be connected.

Watching the emotions flicker across Heero's eyes as they made their way down the passageway to the dressing trailer, Relena could almost guess the plans Heero was about to embark on. Searching for an ally, she found Jess up ahead, rushing to the cabin while pushing Quatre in front of her.

"Hurry, hurry!" she heard the girl urged the young blond and remembered the first item after Miss Meldor's group presentation was going to be Fencing. Given they had only one trailer, naturally the guys and the girls had to take turns. Which was quite a disadvantage as Miss Meldor's group was totally girls and therefore faced no problem changing in front of each other.

And perhaps it was a girl's instinct that made Jess to hurry Quatre like that. For the moment the boy stepped out of the trailer, sword in hand, they were calling him to get on stage for the fifth time already.

"What? So fast?" he stammered out as he was again hurried past by Jess. He only caught the flitting words of Duo's reply: "They had to forgo it . . ." And when he got onto the stage, the rest of the answers fell into place.

"You sick, twisted, pervert!" was the first words that greeted him out of Dorothy Catalonia's mouth, as she pointed her sword at him. "Did you expect us to go out in our underwear?"

Suddenly, Quatre knew why he saw Duo sneaking around the rose bushes the night before with a black bag on his back. Meanwhile, in the background, he heard Dorothy ranting on about choosing the "bright red one" and "psychologically challenged", and decided they had better get started before Dorothy lost her cool and got unpredictable.

Quickly, he slid down his face guard and saluted as tradition required, waiting patiently for the girl to do likewise. He could see that his plan to win by "luck" was not going to work, thanks to Duo unnecessarily tampering, for Dorothy was so riled up that only brute force and skill could defeat her now.

With a queenly "humph!", the fair lady followed his cue and saluted.

"Unguard, you fiend," she announced and the match started. Quatre barely had time to dodge when Dorothy made a fatal thrust for his kidney, her intent obvious on puncturing one of his organs at least, if not defeat him.

"Good grief, at least act like a lady," he chided when he finally got both their swords in a dead lock.

"My manners are not for the likes of you, female dog," the rival returned, using her height to add pressure to the sword. If Quatre hadn't trained with his butler on boxing, that height would have weighted him down a little.

Putting his latent muscles into action, he replied as he held his ground: "Tsh, tsh, and just when I thought you were getting so cute."

At that, the girl gave a shiver and jumped back, breaking the lock. Her movements suddenly stiff and confused as she slowly circled him. Caught between the desire to charge forward and attack, and the desire to take flight from what seemed to be an unhealthy interest in her.

"You stay away," she darkly warned, waving her sword threateningly at him. "Bad enough already that you stole from us. Don't you dare bring your sick perversion into this fight."

"What perversion?" Quatre returned with cheeky innocence, deciding he liked Duo's method of honesty after all. "You should be honored that someone as **rich** as me even takes notice of you."

"Like _beep ._"

"Oh, how becoming of you."

"Cut the crap, you _beep, beep beep _," the aggravated girl hollered and charged, giving Quatre the opening he was searching for. With a duck, he evaded the thrust aimed for his throat and slapped his sword smartly around her ankles, making her stumble and lose her balance.

Once she started going down, he caught her flailing hand and hauled her upright against him, sliding his sword through the grip and ripping it out of her fingers. The dull vibrating sound of the sword as it buried its end into the far side of the stage on his side, signaled both his victory and the end of the first item.

It was then, for a moment, the reality of silence moved in like a thick fog. All Quatre could hear was the struggle of the girl as she fought to catch her breath and grasp the situation.

Then the crowd went wild and started applauding and stamping their feet in appreciation of such elegant display of swordsmanship and admirable level-headedness. Cheers of "Quarisa! I love you!" were heard echoing around the stage as flowers were thrown at them. Some of it, on his suspicions, were taken from the rose bushes growing around the compound for he spied a number of them retaining their thorns still.

But what brought him out of his musings was a rough push to his chest, causing him to stumble backwards a little, courtesy of Dorothy shoving away from him to stalk off the stage. No doubt hurting that she had once again lost a fight to someone who looked frailer and was shorter than her.

"Dumb luck!" he heard her mutter and smiled. No doubt, when her pride recovers, she was going to demand a rematch. If there was one thing Quatre knew about this platinum blond-haired lady, it was that she had an overflowing cup of confidence. No matter how much someone sucked it out of her, it always refilled to the brim and more.

With a small shake of his head, Quatre exited the stage while doing his best to pick up all the flowers along the way.

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Relena took a deep breath and tried to calm herself when she saw Quatre emerge from the stage the victor. Not that she was unhappy that her tutor won. It was that the next event happened to be hers.

Seeing her pinched white face and understanding what she was thinking, Quatre stopped briefly in front of her to give some words of encouragement. Secretly thanking his lucky stars that Heero was probably in the changing room now since his item was after Relena's.

Taking the girl's shivering hands, he spoke: "Take it easy, yesterday's dish came out completely fine."

"But one of the judges is Miss Jenny Theotla, and her judgement carries half the marks." the girl whined, looking in his eyes pleadingly. On hearing her words, Quatre sighed and deduced that either Relena had done too good a job researching on her judge, or that Miss Jenny's fame was legendary outside the bounds of home economics classes. Since there was nothing he could do, he gave her hands another reassuring squeeze and went off to get changed.

Once her teacher had disappeared down the passageway, Relena bit her lower lip and waited for her name to be called. The loud scrapping of machinery as the men worked above to set up the equipments for the next event only made her more nervous. Desperately looking for company, she spied Jess coming up the passageway, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank goodness," she remarked, getting ready to chat off her nervousness. The rest of her words stuck in her throat as the girl moved under one of the dim lights that lighted the passageway. For to Relena's surprise, the girl was still dressed in her ostrich outfit.

"Why aren't you . . . ?"

"Changed?" the girl supplied, moving up to her. "I have to thank your "girlfriend", her sister and my sister for that."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Let's see . . . Helen had to change first since her show is next, then Dorine insisted that she should join her and that way, she needn't freeze waiting for her turn to change. So I thought, hey why not? Both of them are of the same "breeding", can't hurt to kill two birds with one stone. Only to find she also went through our entire make up cases at the end of it to doll up. So my sister got fed up and went in to kick her out, only to take the dressing room for herself now."

"So? You just have to wait a while. I'm sure Wuling is a fast changer."

"I saw Quarisa coming and figured it'll take awhile."

"I'm sure Quarisa will let you change first."

"Not on Wuling's watch. Before Quarisa could even knock on the door to enquire my sister status, she grabbed her inside and told her to change since "that woman takes forever to get ready."

"My teacher doesn't strike me as the type to dilly dally . . ."

"Yes, well, for the beauty pageant, she has a gown with many fittings. By the time Heero steps on stage, I'm guessing that is the only time I can change. So what better way to do it then with you? At least I'll have company and we can trade makeup secrets."

"I am flattered that you would like my company, but makeup secrets trading?"

"Sure beats trading it with Dorine," the girl returned darkly, looking back down the passageway at an imaginary cross-dresser, who at the moment is some distance away.

One thing for certain, that last bit of information was something Relena Darlian had not expected to hear and she stepped onto the stage in a daze when her name was called; nervousness forgotten in the light of hearing something so shocking.

_Over at the boy's side:_

Karl played the coin across his knuckles, waiting for the girls to be done cooking. If anything, all the boys chosen to taste the dish was bribed to allocate higher points to Relena Darlian. The thing most worrying is Miss Jenny from St Hiliary's Home Economics Class. It was a well-known tale that someone had once approached her on the pretext of bribing. Not only did Miss Jenny failed the girl's team in cooking, the perpetrator suffered a fate worse then death: he forced to take up cooking class along side his girl until he broke up with her, which assuredly was within the week.

So the only factor in this competition was how well Relena could cook. Presentation weighed heavily and her rival was making soufflés, which had a fifity percent chance of failing or a fifty percent chance of success. Anyone who made the dish either had high marks if the dish turned out successful or very low for failure. With soufflés, because of its egg white properties, the amount of air trapped within them determined only a clear black or white result.

Since the group forfeited their group representation in swimsuit and dance, they needed the marks badly to up their votes. Hence the high-risk dish in return for an equally almost elusive chance in winning.

Everyone watched as the girls set about preparing their ingredients from the fresh store set up on the sides of the stage. It was clear that Relena was going to make spaghetti when she picked fresh ingredients of tomatos, celery, mushrooms, garlic and a number of spices with the exception of grinded meat.

_Over at the girl's side:_

While her rival set about twirling the machine, Relena got about boiling the water and throwing in the tomatoes for scaldling while washing the rest of her fresh ingredients. Then she fished out the tomatoes, deskined and deseeded them, cut them up into cubes and made them into puree while throwing in the vegetables, leaving out the mushrooms and garlic.

As her rival set about putting the soufflés mixture into paper cups, she chopped up mushrooms and garlic before lightly sautéing it in butter and wine, allowing the fire to catch the edge of the pan for a display of mastery in cooking as Quatre had tipped her to do. Which was a good thing for it greatly pleased the audience and she spied a small smile appearing on Miss Jenny's otherwise strictly pinched lips. Finally, she dropped in the sauce mixture she made earlier, bringing it to a simmer and lightly spicing it up as she stirred.

Once the sauce tasted to her satisfaction, she left it bubbling on the stove and started to boil the water for her pasta. As she moved about gathering the various utensils and ingredients needed to make the pasta, Luanne II Opal had already started washing her dishes while waiting for the soufflés to finish baking in the oven. Knowing this did not look good on her, Relena hurriedly set her requirements neatly in a row and got about washing while taking peeks here and there to see if the water was ready to cook the pasta.

It served her well that she did what she did for when the oven on her competitor went "ding", implying that the baking was done, Relena was ready to dish out the sauce over the cooked pasta. Plus most of her used equipments were washed and packed away, leaving on the table the 8 bowls of pasta for the judges and the pan of sauce to be spooned over each one.

The judges went up on stage, seven boys that Relena was not familiar with and Miss Jenny Theolta.

The first to be judged was Luanne, and as Relena stole a side-glance to the table where the cups were laid, she could feel her heart sink. The nearest cupcake showed a lovely golden brown where the mixture formed a perfect fluffy-light oval covering over the edge of the paper cup. Plus, the girl had placed a small cherry atop each of the cupcakes, giving it a super cute sweet look. The judges made delightful sounds at the back of their throats as they each accepted a cake. After all, Luanne was a pretty redhead and with her brown liquid eyes looking so imploringly at them, Relena figured her chances were close to nil. She couldn't do what Luanne was doing to the judges least Heero might decided to target those boys once this mission of his was called off. And her sauce light spicy flavor might displease a certain few taste buds.

But all that worrying was for naught, for no doubt Miss Jenny could have given Miss Luanne full marks for presentation, the moment they took a bite of the soufflés, each face did a contorted expression.

"Blah!" Miss Jenny belched, spitting her bit into the sink and washing her tongue with the full force of water flowing from the tap. Meanwhile, the rest of the judges tried to be polite by at least swallowing. But that took a great amount of effort on their part and some immediately regretted it for they started to sway slightly on their feet.

"What is this?" Miss Jenny demanded out of the frightened girl who moved as far away from her as the crowd surrounding her would allow.

"I don't understand," Relena heard her murmur in reply, for her vision was blocked by all the boys, one she noted taking support from the cabinet behind him.

"You used salt instead of sugar, didn't you?" she heard Miss Jenny accusation, followed by a rummaging sound of Miss Jenny taking matters into her own hands and searching for the salt. Unable to find it, she opened the sugar jar and tasted the contents inside it, her face registering shock when she found it containing the insulting ingredient.

"This is salt," the lady muttered, tasting the contents again. Whether it was pure luck or that the girl really had no brains, Luanne angrily blurt out: "What? It should be on the . . ."

Quickly, she allowed her speech to trail off but damage had already been done and there was no taking back those words. With a stiff nod of the head, Miss Jenny announced: "Zero for taste. Pity you let out too much or you would have gotten sympathy marks instead."

Then it was over to Relena's side and the event ended too soon with her declared as the winner, for not only Miss Jenny complimented her on the excellent display of cooking skills and ingredient choosing, but also requested that she take up her cooking class as well. So Relena trooped off the stage, a pleased and happy victor while her competitor stormed off, a sore loser.

She had only alighted from the last step when she noticed her love leaning against the wall, his posture suggesting that he was in a rather pleased and relaxed mood. Deciding it was again time to take the initiative, she leaned in and whispered: "Thank you, my guardian angel," before placing a quick kiss on his cheek. Then half running, her face completely blushing as she pulled a stunned Jess after her towards the dressing room, she missed the opportunity to see his own face turn red as well.


	72. Uncovered!

_AN: Again, I'm soooooooo sorry for this late update. Besides drawing class, I took up a job. Yep, that's right. I have a job, again. So can't give you any false hope on the regularity of my updates. But hope you enjoy this chapter._

_To my ever tested and enduring reviewers: Raizard333, Sukeishima, Calli Maxwell, Bunny, Dark Devotions, Dragonelf 8, MysticChaos, Remiera, Animequeensaphira and Silver Kitsune no Tenshi, a great heartfelt thanks in return._

_Yep, as testiment to that fact, most of you are my long time readers. You guys never fail to write to me and give me a gauge to see how far my writing has come. So thank you very much and I hope each and every one of you will continue to enjoy my little musings. _

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 72**

As Treize strode through the crowd of screaming students, watching the thousands trying to scramble away from his army in different directions, he couldn't stop a smirk from forming on his face.

All it had taken was one look from "Wuling" at him, and the cover was blown.

Helen's competition had gone rather well enough, considering that the opponent was in many ways as competitive as him. But they took it a tad too far by jumping off the stage and hunting each other through the crowd, ignoring the panic and mayhem they were causing as they aimed modified arrows at each other.

One minute, they were on stage, stonily shooting at still targets. The next minute, they broke off the arrows sharp ends and tied balloons filled with paint to it, much to everyone's puzzlement, which didn't last long.

Next thing, everyone was scattering and trying to evade the arrows that went flying in all directions. Most of the time aimed accurately for the receiver, only that more often than not, there was an unlucky victim to take the blow. So whatever hope Treize had harbored to uncover early whether the girls were really boys, was foiled by the equally boyish opponent facing the subject.

So in the end, that item was declared null and neither group earned any marks.

When Weiling came out to play, that was a different story. She was the pawn that nearly had him questioning his suspicions and putting it down as an obsessed mind.

Firstly, she had the slender and mild look that only a female could possibly have.

Secondly, like a female, she acted cutely dismayed when her opponent won the first place in the music item. Which hardly surprised anyone, considering that her notes were rather choppy while Miss Sophie Evertones's were as fluent as a bird song.

And thirdly, she had a charmingly annoying way of playing the notes over and over again when they didn't sound right. Reminding him of a certain lady companion, who would determinedly lecture him if he so much as ignored a paper work with pressing need.

For "Wuling", he reacted exactly the way he hoped one of them would act. One glance at him and that was enough to get him off the stage, hands going for his throat. Apparently, in his murderous thoughts, he had forgotten that he was in the midst of competition and his besotted admirer was just in front of the crowd (and conveniently in front of him).

Treize stifled a laugh as he recalled the utterly shocked expression that took over Wufei's face when he suddenly found himself swept up, mid-jump, in the arms of a guy he had utterly no clue why he was fighting for, and dealt a kiss on the lips before he could register what exactly was happening to him.

One thing for certain, that kiss wiped out every single thought in his head. For throughout the remaining competition, the poor boy was in a daze, answering automatically to each question posed to him as a machine would. If anything, Treize had to admire the boy's functionality for what was obviously a bodily breakdown of the cognitive system.

So now that he had confirmed that the subjects, or at least one of them, were truly the wanted men on the list, Treize had leaned over a little to his side and given the releasing order: "Betrothal off. Let's get the party started." Thus releasing Ian from his worrisome duty.

What he didn't expect was winces of reluctance to do his bidding.

"Do we have to?" Dave had asked, giving his commander a pitiful look.

"What's with this sudden unwillingness?"

"Well . . . , Miss Dorine is pretty good at dancing, so . . ." Aaron had suggested, his eyes sliding off to the side with a tinge of embarrassment staining his cheeks.

"Oh, for the love of Christ! That might be a guy dancing!" Treize replied, dropping his voice to a whisper towards the end.

"Yes, well … we could always ignore that fact . . ."

"Good grief!" Treize had slapped a hand to his forehead in aggravation. "Just get to your suits. You want to see the item, we can hold a special personal presentation later."

And so, when the music started for the first presentation, his boys were ready to start invading the school.

* * *

"What are you doing here Duo?" Quatre questioned, his eyes wide with disbelieve when he saw the brunette running up to them when he should be over at the stage showing off his moves. 

Ignoring his question, Duo asked: "Where's Jess?" He got pointed in the direction of the trailer's door. Within a breath, he was pounding on the door, demanding that the girl come out this instant.

"Okay, okay, I'm out, I'm out . . ." Jess responded as she opened the door, her sky blue silk dress rustling as she moved down the three steps. She got a whistle out of the American.

"I'm going back in," she went on, turning her back to him when the boy continued to look at her appraisingly.

"No, wait, I'm sorry. Wufei needs you," Duo hurriedly explained, catching hold of her upper arm in an effort to prevent her from leaving.

"Cuse me?"

"He's right now, standing at the side of the stage, dumbfounded. I tried to bring him back but somehow, he tried practicing his kungfu moves on me. It's amazing how he can do that when it's obvious his brain is shut down," Duo added the last bit under his breath.

"Why? I mean how did he get like this?" Jess asked, perplex that within a short span of time, Wufei could jump from one personality to another. "Just fifteen minutes ago, he was lecturing me on where I did wrong in playing the scores."

At that, Duo broke into a cheeky smile and replied, while giving her a soft push in the direction of the stage: "I'll save that story for another time. Now get going."

Once Jess was out of earshot, Quatre got ready to lecture his friend on the careless slip of tongue in saying their real names. But before he could start, Duo had a hand up over his mouth, his eyes looking seriously at the wall in front of him.

"Forget it Q-man. Treize knows. He's here and Wufei all but blew it."

Meanwhile, Heero who was leaning against the wall, pushed away from it with his right foot. Relena, who was just exiting the trailer, clasped a hand over her mouth in an expression of mild horror.

"You mean one of the Federation's top shots?" she asked, moving up to join Heero. Duo answered her question by giving a solemn nod of his head.

"Relena . . ." Heero started, clasping her shoulders.

"I'm not leaving," the lady cut in, giving her boyfriend a determined look. "I'm not afraid of them."

Hearing her answer, Heero's face turned thunderous for the first time. He started to match her determined stare with his angry glare, trying his best to intimidate her into giving in. Seeing this, Quatre let out a sigh and touched her hand lightly to get her attention.

"Relena, he knows you are not afraid. But he is afraid. For you," Quatre said the words that Heero had problems speaking, ignoring the brutal glare now turned on him. "He does not want you to get hurt."

"Oh." Relena uttered softly, cupping a flaming cheek with one hand. "I see."

Just then, Jess came running up with Wufei in tow, whose eyes were still glazed over while his mind seemed stuck in limbo.

"How did you do it?" Duo asked, admiration for the girl clear on his face.

"Simple. I used the magic words."

"Like?"

"Injustice! I can't fight!"

"Oh . . ." everyone insinuated, looking at Wufei in a really sly manner.

"Never mind that!" the girl interrupted their thoughts, not liking the direction they were taking. "Hear that?"

Straining their ears, they could hear a slight tide of chaos, occasionally coupled with a light shaking of the ground.

"I take it that's not the equipment men setting up my bars and poles for my event, right?" Duo deduced, not looking very cheery about it.

"You got that right."

"So what are your orders?" Quatre asked, looking at her apprehensively.

"Huh?"

"You're the commander for the mission. You call the shots," Duo reminded her.

"Not when it's war. I'm transferring authority to Heero," Jess quickly returned, secretly heaving a sigh of relief.

On hearing that power was finally being returned to him, Heero stepped up to his role instantly.

"To our mobile suits," he barked out. "Relena, take Jess to a safe place. Wufei, you go along with the girls. I deem you no condition to fight."

"Hee hee hee . . ."

That sound stopped everyone in mid-action and they looked around for the source.

"Hee hee ha ha!"

Jess immediately dropped Wufei's hand, discerning that he was the culprit.

"HA HA HA HA HA!" Wufei broke into uncontrollable laughter; his eyes suddenly alight with insanity, his face taking on a ghastly white hue as he clutched his chest with unbridled mirth.

Then, without warning, he broke away from them and started in the direction of the school's backyard.

"Ah s..t!" Heero uttered before giving chase, the boys following close behind.

"Where is he going?" Jess called after their retreating backs.

Only Duo bothered to reply as he continued to run: "My best guest? Nataku!"

Those were the last words Jess spoke to any of them till a week later.


	73. Fiction Fades

_AN: Ok, a little cursing that might be offensive but hey, I believe I'm catering to a bunch of adult-like thinking teenagers. I mean, the word isn't obliterated on television so I hope it won't be raising any hairs here. _

_First, a great big thank you to those who reviewed: ImperialGuardian09, Raizard333, Animequeensaphira, Calli Maxwell, Dark Devotions, Silver Kitsune No Tenshi, Dark-lil-devil, Bunny, MysticChaos, Kamineko, Honami, Dream Keeper, Kuria, Dragonelf8, Remiera, Chikara-Yuy, Willow Evenstar and computer geek michelle._

_Sorry for keeping all of you waiting and again, just to let you know why updates are so infrequent, I have a job and a hobby that takes up almost all my time. Grief, the writer in me is screaming about the injustice ofit allbut when my tummy growls, she quiets down._

_Hopefully you all have used writer alert on me so you know when I update instead of coming back to check. I know it's annoying but I really have no idea when I'll update again. _

_For compensation, I'm uploading two chapters but the second chapter needs a little correcting before it can be uploaded. _

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 73**

Jess barely had time to get a firm footing on the threshold of the rooftop when the ground shook from the supporting crew emerging from the forest at the far left. So far, Trowa was doing his best to hold off the approaching forces but being only one person, his target could only be one.

Not that it mattered. The other robots weren't too concerned about their comrade being engaged in battle and continued to march onwards, ignoring the struggle between the two locked in combat.

Noting that there were eight, excluding the one fighting Trowa, Jess wondered if the boys could win. Considering that Trowa seemed pretty evenly matched against his opponent and they were out numbered by four, the odds certainly did not seem to be in their favour.

But her fears were needless. In a blink of an eye, Duo's Deathsycthe had sliced off a robot's head and he was going for the second before the thing even exploded. Meanwhile, a distance away, Wing had dropped down from the sky onto one mobile suit, crushing it's head into the ground while shooting two robots through the chest with one shot from it's laser gun.

For Quatre, his tactic was to ambush the chosen victim and slice off the peripherals wires, stopping system communication within the suit; and for Wufei, his was a classic direct attack approach, taking two on at a time. Which was quite surprising to Jess because such a reckless and foolish act left him open for attacks. Not the usual cautious and calculative way she had become accustomed to seeing him act.

Jess watched as all three robots crushed into the back way of St Edwin, reducing the main wall to a pile of rubble. Then groans of dismay issued out from the respective boys watching their north wing being disintegrated into a pile of burning ashes. With the three robots prancing about, trying to finish each other off, St Edwin was as good as gone.

"There goes my English composition," she heard a boy to the right of Relena moan.

"You're worried about homework!" his friend exclaimed in utter disbelieve. "My home entertainment centre, costing a cool ten thousand, is now a pile of battle dust!"

"What is that to complain about? My limited edition Rami Lewinky Idol poster is in there!" a third hysterically shrieked before giving in to a dead faint, drawing only mild curious looks from the surrounding people, not one of them bothering to lift a finger to help him in his distress.

Seeing no kind-hearted soul was going to do what was morally right, both girls hurried to the side of the boy. Since Relena knew a little first aid, Jess followed her instructions, unbuttoning the collar and obtaining a little water from one of the students. She watched as the blond haired girl emptied the water bottle onto her handkerchief before dabbling the wet hanky onto the boy's perspiring forehead.

Meanwhile, as more of the school was destroyed, the complaints got louder and even more resentful.

"I came here because my dad said this was a peaceful neighborhood. A buffer zone! Well buffer, my foot. I hope I can get back the sum of my fees."

"Oh but it is," a short, bespectacled boy contradicted, pushing his glasses up his nose as if he knew everything. "It is those freedom fighters that don't know the boundaries of appropriateness or class. Quite animalistic if you see it from that point of view. One thing for sure, they can't keep a promise even when it is in writing."

"Go to hell, you low class morons," another shouted at the machines doing battle with each other. "We don't want you here breathing our air."

"So shameless! They should quit aspiring to be something they are not."

"Precisely. The low class people will always be servants no matter what. And stay that way too."

"Just look at the mess they're creating. I shudder to think I might have rubbed shoulders with such common rebellious folks."

"There goes the east wing with that robot. So much for the dorm's year-end party. Really, some people can be so inconsiderate!"

"My diamond cuff links probably cost more than half that robot. Not to mention, more than the school's backyard." Another announced from somewhere in front of the crowd.

Just hearing all the spoilt brats grouched about such trivial things, Jess felt like giving each of them a good punch and hopefully, knocking a little sense into them. Were the lives of commoners so insignificant that their materialistic possession patronized their worries at the very top?

Noticing her change in expression, Relena nudged her, giving her a concern look when she finally paid her some attention.

"Do you think . . .," she croaked and swallowed some saliva to moist her parched throat that had suddenly went dry. "Do you think the school's empty?"

Her question casted a shadow into the beautiful blue eyes of the girl. She looked to the ground with a painfully sad look on her face before answering: "We can only pray that is so."

Turning her face back to the burning scene, she watched as Wufei's Shenlong danced amidst the fiery flames, spearing with the remaining one that had not fallen to the ground among the ashes. For the first time, just standing there looking at a scene that wasn't played out on television like a cartoon should be, Jess suddenly understood the horror and pain behind the one grieving in war. It was not longer an entertainment but reality.

And she joined in with her own tears of regret.

* * *

Treize hurried up the stairs, trying his best not to look out a window, nor remember that he knew each one of the fallen guys just minutes ago, sharing their laughter and excitement as they watched the competition.

Back up was on the way and in a few minutes, the sky would be painted red with his army, each wearing the Federation coat of arms on its armour.

But the thoughts would not stop flooding his mind. The way Ian would go for the food, the thoughtful gesture of Dave roasting a batch of sweet potatoes on their camp out nights, the laughter of Derrick with a little snort thrown in and the way . . .

The last thought hung unfinished in the air as Treize's big toe caught the bottom step and sent him plunging face forward. It was his quick reflexes that saved him from landing face-flat in disgrace and regret. He threw his hands out; one catching hold of the railing, while the other reaching for the higher steps, bracing for impact.

'_Got to keep moving.'_ He reminded himself as he pulled himself upright against the railing, shaking his head to clear up the remaining nonsense that seemed determined to get at his conscience. _'People come, people go. If they die, that's just their own luck or inexperience."_

And that thought got him moving, just like all the battles before. Only that it didn't make him feel any better of course.

* * *

Jess had only just wiped her tears away when someone rudely grabbed her arm and jerked her up and backwards into the crowd. She didn't even get chance to let Relena know of her sudden abduction for another hand came forward and firmed pinched her nose and mouth together.

The last she saw of the blond girl was the back of her head, the blond tresses falling forward as she bended over to check on the boy's progress.

Oh, she had some curious glances thrown in her direction from onlookers but when they took one look at her kidnapper, they turned their faces away and continued watching the school opposite burns. Razed to the ground by a stupid "sister" who was supposed to be protecting her.

Struggling to breathe and knowing that the only person she could depend on now was herself, Jess buried the heel of her foot into the kneecap of her abductor. She could have saved the precious energy. All she got was a sharp hiss of pain and then a more frantic dragging to only God knows where.

Feeling her lungs about to burst as she tried to twist free of the choking hold, Jess got her first look at her kidnapper. Treize Khushrenada liquid blue eyes met hers for a brief second. Then he smiled that fantastic lazy smile of his at her that made her heart miss a beat.

'_Fine time to be attracted to the opposite sex!'_ she mentally chided herself, feeling another fainting fit coming on from the lack of air.

The sudden cheering of the crowd got her ebbing focus and she saw in the distance, red colored dots heading towards them fast. Then a louder roar and more thunderous earthquakes covered the cheers and she saw Wing took off to the sky, the rest of her comrades scattering fast in different directions, all of them leaving her behind.

'_Excellent, just great . . .'_ was the last thought she had as the merciful darkness claimed her, ending her dreadful day with the only escape ever given to humans in any situation.


	74. Missing

_AN: Finally, the second part of the promise I made to you guys._

_Just to let you know, from here on, it gonna get dark and ugly._

_But on a dark humorous side, Enjoy!_

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 74**

Treize was smirking as he carried the dead weight of the girl on his shoulders like a prized catch. Finally, a clue to where the rebels might be hiding. The way they relocated was extraordinary fast but with this little bundle here, he might get lucky.

Depositing her roughly onto the prisoner's chair, secretly glad to be rid of his burden, he watched as his men efficiently strapped and buckled her securely to the seat. Interrogation was on his mind and hopefully, that was all he needed to get the information out of her. The mere thought of using torture struck an unsettling nerve in him.

Looking at her still form, her head lolling down, all they had to do was to wait for her to wake up. That could be a long while from the hospital reports he read on her recently.

Turning to face one of his men, he ordered: "Bring the water, make it iced."

* * *

Relena's mobile gave a tiny vibration before going into its melodious notes. Gingerly pressing the button, Relena was rewarded with silence on her end of the line.

Thinking quickly on her feet, she left the temporary shelter to find privacy, which turned out to be an old abandoned garderobe. Ensuring that she was the only one around, she latched the rusty lock and then with some apprehension, whispered: "Heero?"

The reassuring "Hn." was all she needed to hear, bringing with it the much-needed relief, melting all the bodily tension she had been suffering all day.

She didn't know how long they both stood there in reassuring silence after that greeting, just listening to nothing, luxuriating in the fact that neither side was harmed. But all too soon she heard Wufei's voice interrupting: "Ok, enough of that lovey-dovey stuff. Give me that receiver."

Then came the sound of scuffling that Relena could only imagine were both boys battling to talk to her and stifled her own laughter at such a ludicrous thought. Shortly, the scuffle ended and the scrapping sound of the phone being picked up started before a familiar voice spoke: "Hey girl, how it's coming along?"

"Good day to you, Maxwell," she answered as politely and formally as she could before breaking into perils of laughter. Suddenly, the anxiety she had felt earlier in the day seemed as if it happened a long time ago.

"Well Pretty, is Sally with you?"

"She's pretty occupied at the moment, tending to the injured. In this case, those traumatized students," Relena replied, allowing sarcasm to creep into her voice.

"Too bad. How about Jess?" For a moment, Relena felt her insides freeze.

"Beg you pardon? Is she not with you guys?"

"Huh?"

Swallowing some saliva, she nervously asked with a sinking feeling in her heart: "Did not the both of you arrange to meet somewhere?"

"No. Why would you think like that?"

"Well . . . because when all of you fled, she disappeared from my side. I thought she had gone to meet one of you boys."

There was more noise which Relena could only guess was Duo covering the mouth piece for the question he popped to the guys sounded muffled and far away.

"Any of you people told her to meet us somewhere for pick up?"

Silence resulted after that question indicating that the boys were giving gestures in answer. With trepidation, she waited with bated breath; hoping that one of the boys was nodding.

More noise ensued, signifying that Duo was ready to talk. But the voice that spoke didn't sound as chirpy as it did before.

"Relena-hon," he started on a slightly heavy note, "we've got to go."

"My goodness, she is not with you," she deduced, feeling her anxiety go up to it previous levels.

More silence and then the dreaded answer: "Yeah."

"I'll go look for her in the shelter again," she hurried volunteered, hand reaching out to unlatch the door. "Maybe she got lost. I'll call you when I find her."

"No can do, this is payphone. We'll call you in an hour to check up." And the call ended on this abrupt note.

* * *

A cold, wet feeling suddenly erupting on her face rudely awakened Jess. She was having a pleasant dream of dining out with her mom and dad when it turned disastrous, the waiter tripping and dumping the ice-cold dessert on her.

Blinking aside her sleepiness, she looked up into a roomful of hulking men, none of them looking apologetic about what they had just done to a girl. Then one of them moved forward, bringing her attention to him. Jess felt her body stiffen as she recognized the person.

Treize Khushrenada may be dashing but taking in the fact that she was helping the opposition against him, Jess doubted that'll be all she would be seeing of him.

Making a quick sweep of her situation, she could see it was rather bleak. Her hands and legs were bound to the mental hair with leather strips and her waist had a nasty looking metal band around it. At her temples, there were electro-pods attached and she didn't like the look of the wires that led out from the base of her chair to a control box some distance away.

"Hello," she heard the suave looking man say, before his face blocked out her field of vision. He waited for her answer with a patient look on his face, as if this was a courtesy call that gentlemen of old would pay to the ladies they were visiting.

**Zing!**

A short pain passing right through her body was enough to loosen her tongue and to her utter embarrassment, her integrity.

"Ouch! Hello," she quickly responded, feeling her left eyelid twitch from the receding current. So much for wanting to keep mum. The only reassuring thought was that she knew next to nothing about the boys. Unless he was interested in personalities. But judging from the amount of people gathered, Jess doubted his interests ran that deep.

Pulling up a chair, she watched as the young man made himself comfortable. Obviously a calculated action to make her more aware of her own helplessness.

"I think you are very aware of the information we are look for. If you, in layman terms, spill it, we will let you live."

"That's nice. But I would really appreciate it if you would kindly tell me what exactly you're looking for."

**Zing!**

This time the pain was longer. Jess didn't know when she started clenching her teeth but she knew when her jaw muscles relaxed, with it came a trickle of metallic-tasting liquid flooding the sides of her tongue.

'_Wonderful,"_ she thought miserably, eyeing the man in front of her with wariness, _'Now that's gonna be an ulcer.'_

"Jesting really isn't my color," he explained in a nonchalant voice, never losing that ever-confident expression, like a hunter who has his prey trapped in a corner with no escape.

"Neither is pain for me," she answered as truthfully as she could, hoping he could read the sincerity in her voice and expression.

"Good. Now stop beating around the bush."

"And I seriously have no idea what you're looking for."

**Ziiiinnnng!**

Jess felt her body jumped up and out, her muscles straining to get away from the horrid chair as the electric current flowed through it. Her temple felt ready to burst at the exploding pain and for a spilt second of a moment, a terrible realization that her fainting trigger wasn't working from the very first shock. Then it was over as suddenly as it started, leaving her gasping for air as if she had ran a marathon instead of straining painfully for just a few seconds.

"It pains me to see you this way. Since I'm feeling indulgent, humour me. Where are they right now?"

"I don't know."

**Zing!**

Waving a finger in front of her face while tching, he spoke: "Wrong answer."

"I REALLY don't know"

**Ziinng!**

"I must warn you against testing my patience."

"And if I knew how to read the stars and coordinates, I would have joined Singapore's Aerospace Development Centre and become an astronaut!"

**Zzziiiinnng!**

For a moment, her vision blacked but it came back on in two seconds, much to her dismay. Of all times, when she crucially needed to be alert, her freaking stupid brain gave up on her. Now, when she freakily needed to be lights out, she couldn't tear her focus out of reality.

Dimly, she heard the guy at the control box chide her: "You show some respect, you low life slut! That's our commander you're speaking to."

But it seemed that whatever she said in the last sentence got Treize attention. He held up a hand towards the angry soldier and said: "No, that will be enough for now Ellius."

Tilting her head up till they were looking eye to eye, he took a moment to study her.

"Did you say "Singapore"?"

"Yeah . . ." Jess's wariness shot up to a high level. Something was terribly wrong. Their great commander looked too curious for his own good.

"Small country in Asia?"

"Actually, smallest country in Southeast Asia to be exact," she replied, pulling her head out of his grip. She didn't like the looks of suspicion now directed at her from around the room.

"You're speaking as if you know it."

"I was born in it and lived my whole 17 years of life there . . . until now," she quickly added in the last bit, her mind registering that she was letting on more than she should about herself.

"All 17 years?"

"Why? Don't tell me look older than 17."

"When were you born?"

"1983," the answer popped out naturally from Jess's mouth before she remembered that now was the year 2050 in Gundam world.

"Um . . . I meant to say the year 2033," she hurriedly amended amidst quick calculations, hoping that they didn't hear too well.

Treize give her that appraising look that spoke volumes of his amusement at her answers. His mouth quirked up a little at the sides and a mischievous glint appeared in the depths of his lavender-blue eyes.

"Definitely 2033?"

With a sinking feeling, Jess realized that she must have just dug a deeper grave to bury herself. Something must have happened to Singapore before 2033, probably even before she was born.

Her uncertainty must have showed on her face for the young man took a deep breath before continuing: "In 2001, by some meteorite crash, Singapore was flattened and buried under 8000 leagues of seawater. Classified Information, since you won't be leaving this cell anyway, was that the Federation engineered the meteorite crash."

"Why would you want to annihilate a country like that?"

"That country had the potential of becoming a central freedom fighter base given that none of its citizens totally belonged to any of the major powers and it's economic network was highly established throughout all the continents."

"Hey! We may be varied in race but we are racial and cultural tolerant. Our only goal in life is to live a good, honest life and no one there would be insane to go to war. All of us would perish in one blow, as I believe history here has already shown."

"Well, potential is potential and the threat will remain."

"So you would kill a whole nation of people to safe guard your authority over the rest of the world?"

"Correction. The Federation would exterminate anything or anyone who threatens the peace that it has already established."

On hearing such a selfish, ego-serving answer, Jess did something she thought she would never ever do. She broke her mother's strict code of mannerisms.

**Pui!**

Her spit landed right smack in his left eye. A collective gasp of surprise went round the room at such disrespect towards their leading officer. But Treize reaction was different.

He wiped the spit off his eye, flung the hand down to rid of the remaining residue before looking her calmly in the eye.

"Sympathy for a country?"

"You're looking at a true blue Singaporean."

"Ah . . . Zap her."

**ZZIIIINNN . . .**

Jess didn't get to feel the ending sting of the electric chair for thankfully; her fainting spell came to save her at the right moment.


	75. Descending Hell

_AN: Finally, some time to write. Hope you will find this chapter interesting. I've given this a lot of thought and finally crafted the succession of events. Enjoy!_

_But let me thank my reviewers for their patience and enthusiasm for this fic: Raizard333, ImperialGuardian09, computer geek michelle, MysticChaos, Remiera, Dark Devotions, Bunny, thegrandfour, Dragonelf 8, DethByPencils, Calli Maxwell, silver kitsune no tenshi, Animequeensaphira, honami, chikara-yuy and PrincessWolfGoddess. Geesh, the way I'm going, this fic won't end till three years later. Oh well, I take great enjoyment in learning that I'm improving and hope this fic will continue to give you guys endless days of entertainment._

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 75**

Sally had only just alighted from the shuttle when the news of Jess was announced across the mass media intermediaries. For a moment, she stood stunned in the middle of the runway, unable to believe what she had just heard from the airport PA system.

"Hey lady, move it," a burly man instructed, slamming his bag into her shoulder as he tried to overtake her. With a muttered apology, Sally regained her senses and moved towards the air-conditioned shuttle center as quickly as she could. Perhaps this was a mistake and the Federation was really putting out a notice for Jess's capture. A hoax to demoralize potential freedom fighters and establish a firm hold on their colonies.

But this was all speculating on Sally's part. If she wanted to confirm her suspicions, the best choice was to meet up with the boys as soon as possible. And hopefully, Jess was still with them.

Quickening her pace, Sally marched determinedly to the nearest clearance counter for a pass approval.

* * *

Treize messaged his forehead as he took a break from his computer. The midnight oil burned in searching the true identity of the girl didn't only made her more mysterious, but turned up more bluffing puzzles as well. 

Indeed, there was a Jess Lee Weiling born, but her records showed 1983 and not 1933. She should have perished in the meteorite crash as reported in 2001 or by some uncanny luck of survival, a living old crone by now.

But the most recent photo of the girl matched the prisoner up to the tiniest detail. Treize eyed the photo warily and wondered if he should carry out a DNA test to see if the genes make-up matched the "deceased" girl perfectly.

'_Clone?'_ Treize contemplated and shook that ridiculous thought out of his head. To clone something, you need a fresh tissue sample from a living subject. At the most a few minutes old and no older. If the tissue has been put on deep freeze, it loses some of its DNA information, resulting in deformities, not perfect carbon copies.

'_Descendent of this person?'_ he questioned himself, narrowing his eyes at the photo. But if the gene pool of the girl fitted that of the "obliterated" person to a tee, it was simply not possible for her to be a genetic inheritor of the person he was now looking at on the screen. After all, once genes were mixed, some reminiscent of the partnering gene will stay forever in the blood of the following children. A genetic trace of ancestry to be exact.

So that would leave him with only impossible explanations from folklore and legends. Either the girl had found a way to immortalize herself or traveled through time and space to escape the great tragedy that awaited her during her time.

With a bemused laugh, Treize pushed the ludicrous ideas aside and turned his attention to other matters. With regards to the girl, he would shelve it until the DNA test results were out.

* * *

All the boys gathered tensely around Quatre, holding their breaths in anticipation. Sally had finally made a call to Quatre's outhouse and was currently arranging accommodation with him. 

"Well?" Duo asked, breaking the silence as soon as Quatre laid the phone back into its holder. With a grim expression, Quatre shook his head. A gloom settled quickly amongst the group, each understanding that without a doubt, their accomplice was indeed taken by the Federation.

"I don't think we'll be seeing her anymore," Heero concluded with finality in his voice. "Doctor J said that if she's still alive, we're to shoot her immediately on sight."

"What!" utter shock and disbelieve followed that unexpected order.

"You have got to be joking," Duo spoke for the rest who were left speechless by such a cruel and cold instruction. Heero shrugged his shoulders and walked off with a nonchalant air about him.

"She cannot be a threat," Quatre desperately called out after Heero's retreating back. "She doesn't even know one star from another. Let alone where our headquarter is residing and on which solar system!"

But Heero ignored his argument and turned the corner, disappearing into the kitchen.

"We better get on the line with Doctor J," Duo suggested, hand reaching out to unplug the phone line. But Trowa stopped his action by grabbing hold of his wrist.

"Don't be stupid, Maxwell," Wufei chided, correctly interpreting Trowa's concern for the first time. "By now, the Federation should be tapping into Quatre's lines to trace out the headquarter. Our young master here has already been attracting quite a lot of unwanted attention with his underground activities."

"Then lets head for the nearest public phone," Duo countered, shaking off Trowa's firm grip.

"Save your effort, idiot. The whole colony lines should be by now closely monitored to find out if anyone is making any inter-planetary connections."

"Then how did that guy **get** his commands?" Duo demanded, his good nature disappearing completely under the stress of lacking solutions to their situation.

Turning his face away so Duo couldn't look into his eyes, Wufei answered: "At the start of the mission, J must have made it clear to him that she was dispensable. He isn't wasting any resources to send her home. Inter-dimensional travel is best left for myth and science fiction, especially if we fail to overthrow the Federation. Her demise is actually the best for the overall good of those over there."

With that being said, Wufei spurn on his heel and took his leave with Trowa.

"No way. . ." Quatre whispered under his breath, feeling tears swell beneath his lower eyelids. The horror of it was too mystifying to put into words. Meanwhile Duo slummed down against the wall into a crouched position, burying his face into his folded arms, feeling again, since childhood, a kind of deep hopelessness ascending down on his shoulders.

* * *

Jess decided she was going to treasure her old life once she got back. She would throw out all the fighting comics and read only shojo mangas, ones with happy endings and dealt only with ordinary life difficulties. Hack, she would find a good boyfriend, get married and have a few kids. The tried and tested ideal life that was peaceful, uneventful and didn't require her to think so much of the future except giving her kids a good education and proper tools to support themselves independently when they grow up. 

Yep, Jess had it all planned out when she woke into consciousness. Which was why she could smile at Lady Une even though she was threateningly swinging a horsewhip in her face.

"I'll ask you once again," the iron lady spoke, her eyes looking down with contempt on her. "What is your real name?"

"My real name?" Jess repeated, trying to understand her question. Funny how a day without food and drink could cloud her mind with a shroud of blankness. "I don't know."

**Psh!**

The sharp stinging of the whip on her left cheek quickly brought her mind back into sharp focus. With rapid awareness exploding in her mind, Jess realized she was clasped in chains in a filthy cell she had read only in history books. The lady with the horsewhip stood poised, ready and waiting for her to gather her drowsy wits and answer exactly as she wanted her to do, which unfortunately for Jess, had absolutely no clue as to what it was.

"Well?" the lady curtly asked, tapping the whip against her shoulder, making the end twitch. Jess swallowed and wished she could read minds. Anything to gain her reprieve from this nightmarish reality.

"Jess . . . Jess Lee," she whispered, knowing her voice was barely audible.

**Psh!**

Now Jess's right cheek was stinging with pain. No doubt an angry red slash, stretching from her ear to her chin, was appearing against the white of her skin.

"Louder!" the lady commanded, her glasses catching the rays of sunlight, stealing in from the small window near the cell ceiling, making it impossible to read her eyes.

"Jess Lee!" Jess shouted, trying her best to gather her courage, which had shrunk to the bottom of her stomach since the electric torture. But as much as she liked to think she had reached her loudest capacity, the answer came out no louder than a half shout that choked at the end on the fear that rose up as well.

On hearing her answer, the lady turned and looked as if she was about to leave, satisfied with her answer. But in a flash, she spurn around so fast that Jess didn't have time to react, much less dodge the whip aimed right across her face. On instinct, Jess could only shut her eyes and feel the whip cut deep into her flesh, splitting her lower lip into two while tearing into the tip of her nose before ending off across her right eyebrow, nicking the eyelid in progress.

'_Oh please, someone help me!'_ she fervently prayed, trying her best to fight back her tears of pain and self-pity. The last blow had destroyed any miniscule courage she had unconsciously held and she could heard the chains rattle as her body shook in the bonds from this overwhelming fear that was engulfing her whole being. Already, just sitting up took a great amount of effort, but to answer any following question would be impossible.

'Oh please, I'm begging you God.'

Then the door opened, revealing Treize and two of his men.


	76. Twist of Fate

_AN: Finally got time to put this up. I took me quite a while to get the words upon "paper" but it was worth the while._

_Here's to: ImperialGuardian09, Calli Maxwell, Zoray Zorial, Raizard333, Bunny, Honakaa Honami, Silver Kitsune no Tenshi, DethByPencils, Dragonelf 8, MysticChaos, Remiera, The Goddess of Destruction…, SAGA123 and Dream Keeper. Whew! Hope I got all of you. Thanks for all the great reviews! Me here will try my best to update more often. _

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 76**

Treize took a tentative step into the room before taking in the scenery. Apparently, his lady companion had been busy trying to dig information from the girl for her face held testament to that; especially the ugly red streak that ran from the left side of her chin to the upper right of the eyebrow.

'_Oh my,' _he thought as he carefully picked his way through the scattered debris of past prisoners to Une's side, noticing a single drop of blood making its way down the horsewhip the lady held.

"You know, you don't have to be so hard on the child," he gently admonished her the moment he reached her side. From where he was standing, he could see the girl shivering in her bounds.

He received a nod of submission from Une before she stepped back, letting him take center stage.

Slowly he knelt down and gently took her face into his hands for a closer inspection. _'Poor thing,'_ a small part of him sympathized, then he snapped his fingers and his bodyguard stepped forward to hand him a glass tube.

Holding her face steady with one hand, the other hand collecting the precious sample of blood that trickled down from the gash to her chin, Treize took the opportunity to study the girl more.

She was quite thin, though not starving thin, and her eyes stared out hauntingly from amidst her black unruly hair, watching him with a mixture of despair, pain and acute awareness of the grim reality surrounding her. Gone was the naivety that shone beneath the dark brown irises, in its place a shell of the girl remained; battered, frightened and broken in spirit. Gone was the innocence that lit up her whole face, instead the angry red swelling around the gash and markings were her only adornment, contrasting sharply against the fearful white of her skin. Made all the more prominent by the ruby-red blood making its way down, dripping thickly into the container he held beneath her chin.

Treize felt a stab of guilt and sighed. He hadn't meant to bring it this far.

By the time he was satisfied with his inspection, the glass tube was filled to at least a fifth, which would be sufficient for all the testing required. Gently, he let go of the feverish girl's head, easing out his support slowly till he was sure she could hold it on her own.

"What is that for?" His companion immediately asked, curiosity piped by the sample of blood he had collected.

"Oh, it is for confirmation on her identity," he answered, smiling his most winsome smile that could make most female knees' buckle, while handing his guard the precious tube.

"Ah . . . You have some leads."

"Well . . . it's a yes and a no. Can I have the keys please?"

"What?"

"Keys?"

"No, I meant your answer before your question. And why on earth do you need the keys?" she asked, hand over her pocket where the prisoner's keys were kept.

"I'll explain to you about this when the results are confirmed," he replied, stretching his right hand out at the same time. "Keys please."

Reluctantly, the older woman withdrew the keys out of her pocket and handed them over, but not before throwing him an annoyed look that said _everything_: from his unusual actions to a suspicion about his future decisions with the girl concerned. But being a subordinate, she couldn't do anything except bite the bullet and watch on the sidelines.

Signaling his other bodyguard over, Treize handed the keys over to him and watched as the guy released the prisoner from her bonds. Then much to everyone's utter disbelief, Treize bended down and personally lifted the girl up in his arms.

The shock of being so tenderly treated must have been too much for the girl, for her eyes rolled back into her head and she lost consciousness for the second time in one day, something Lady Une could foresee she was going to be famous for.

"Where do you think you're going with her?" Lady Une demanded to know as she stepped directly into his path, unable to believe the slightest chance that she might have competition.

"Oh, to Sister Augustine's room, of course," he stated, making it sound as if that was the most natural thing to do.

"Sister Augustine died last week. She would not be able to tend to her."

"Who ever said I need her to tend to this girl? I'm _giving_ her the room."

If Une hadn't been well schooled all 15 years of her life on proper manners and appropriate lady behavior, she had no doubt her jaw would be hitting the floor now.

'_Alright . . . calm down,'_ she thought as panic started to rise up her chest. _'This is just for show. His overall goal must be to win the girl's heart and then drop the trapdoor out from under her feet when she tells us the darn freedom fighters' locations. I'll just have to grin and bear it for a while.'_

But secretly, in the back of her mind, she had started thinking of ways on how she would like to dispose off the girl, preferably the farthest planet from Treize.

'_Just you wait you little vixen,'_ she vowed as she stepped aside and let Treize pass. _'Just you wait.'_

* * *

Duo was crawling through the thick trinket when he found himself looking at the bottom of a shoe. Not ordinary shoes made of canvas and rubber but proper leather shoes made from the hide of harden crocodile's skin.

"Quatre?" Duo mused aloud, recognizing the expensive Damicious shoes that only one person in their group could afford. "What are you doing sneaking in your own backyard?"

At that, the familiar blond head popped up and turned to look back at him. But not before he spotted by the moonlight, the fleeting guilty expression he had on his face.

"Well . . . I . . . um . . ." the blond blabbed, obviously unprepared for being caught red-handed. Then realization dawned on him that Duo was similarly doing the same thing as he was.

"What are **you** doing here?" Quatre stressed, turning the tables back on his inquisitor who broke into a wide grin on hearing his question.

"If I tell you the answer, will you be honest on your answer with me?" The brunette questioned, giving him a rather sly, measuring look.

"Do I ever lie to you?"

"That's my line. Yours is different."

With a sigh, Quatre conceded defeat and suggested instead: "On the count of three, we both say why we're crawling about like that in my garden."

"Ok. One, two, Three!"

"Saving Jess," they both said in unison and realized that two other different voices joined theirs as well. Then an affirmative "Hn" followed after a short pause.

"GUYS!" Duo stated out loud, no longer concealing his utter amazement at the sudden congruity of the group. Then both Quatre and him were scrambling to their feet, clawing to the surface above the thick branches and leaves where three more heads popping out of the same trinket, greeting their eyes. Everyone stood in the waist tall bushes, looking somewhat abashed at being caught in such a ridiculous situation.

But then that moment passed and they all broke out into a roaring laughter, understanding that each of them had secretly nurtured the same goal and the stupidity of assuming that the others would simply comply with the doctors' orders.

"Alright, I could do with more supplies. What say we go back in to restock our inventories to a more acceptable level?"

"Excellent idea. One that I truly approve," Wufei agreed, nodding his head.

"Hn."

"My lovely Oreo cookies! Here I come!" Maxwell hollered and dashed towards the house, the others following closely behind his heels.

From her bedroom window, Sally dropped the curtain and retired to bed with a satisfied smile. After all, choices that one makes in life dictates much about the person's character. Sally had no doubt that all five teenagers would become fine men. Pulling the covers up over her shoulders, Sally sunk peacefully into the sweet folds of her dreams for the future.


	77. Ladies and Gentlemen

_AN: Boy, I am glad that I told you guys to put my story on alert. Can't believe that two months has flown by. Sorry about this super delayed update but I'm currently taking up short hand courses while working. You have no idea how tired I feel and this chapter was written when I had a flu and under the influence of medicine._

_Of course, once I was well, that took up another few weeks to correct my mistakes and make this chapter coherent. So little time . . . I haven't checked my email account for like 3 weeks. I shudder to open it. So to all my regular readers, thank you for all the lovely reviews and perking my spirits up at the end of the day._

_On with the fic!_

**Chapter 77**

When Jess opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed were the wooden beams stretching across the roof. Being quite used to finding herself in a different location every single time she woke up from her fainting spells, she was hardly surprised to see that the scenery had changed.

What really startled her was a certain gentleman with wild fiery orange-red hair, sitting at her bedside. He had placed both elbows on top of his knees to prop his face up, hunching forward as if he had been studying her all this while, patiently waiting for her to become accustom to her surroundings.

For a moment, Jess felt her heart miss a beat, then drop to the pit of her stomach.

'_Why is he here and what the heck were you thinking girl!' _Jess mentally chided herself, at the same time, wondered what expression she had on her face that could cause the young man to turn his face away and politely hide his laughter behind his hand. No doubt a mirror would answer that if she didn't mind holding that expression till she had time to find one.

Which brought to mind the question of how long this would take before she _could_ find one.

Deciding that sitting up first and surveying her situation was a far better idea than indulging in such a childish curiosity, Jess let her facial muscles relax and moved in a way so that the bed sheets still covered her from neck down.

After all, one cannot be too careful, considering that she was alone in a foreign room with a guy. Plus the odds of her wearing only her underwear under the bed sheets was about 80 absolute; judging from the way such things often happened in the hundreds of anime cartoons she watched. And what would her dear old mother say if she so much as compromised her dignity?

'_Probably disown me and renounce to the world that I'm her daughter,'_ she thought, shuddering at the very notion of living life on the streets.

A quick look in Treize's direction confirmed he was still sniggering away with his back turned towards her. Taking this short gift of privacy, Jess quickly pulled her hands out from under the sheets.

Which gave her the second surprise of that day.

Gone were the chains on her wrists. And there weren't any ropes or any other kind of equipment to keep her bound. All was left, as a reminder that they had been there, were the imprints where they had cut into her skin.

Unable to believe her sudden turn of luck, Jess tried moving her feet to see if she could feel any kind of restraint. There was none, just the sound of rustling as her legs moved beneath the clean, crisps sheets.

For the second time in her life, Jess Lee Weiling was utterly free. And it was utterly amazing given her current circumstances, and that triggered an utterly enormous burning to peek under the sheets just to be sure she was totally free.

That is until she found herself looking eyeball to eyeball with Treize Khushrenada, who seemed to be following her unsaid train of thoughts and seemed REALLY interested in her next course of action. That was enough to douse any burning desire in Jess to peel back the sheets, let alone relax the arm muscles that were pinning them to her body.

"How do you like your new room?" Treize asked, breaking the silence first when it didn't seem like Jess was going to start any time soon.

Instead, the girl let out a small huff of indignation before choosing to look out the window.

"I apologize if I have offended you in any way, my lady," he quickly offered, hoping she would take it. When the silence continued, he added in cheekily: "After all, who can blame me when there is a lovely lady, sitting on the bed so invit . . ."

He never got to finish his sentence for the girl cut him off with a terribly cold voice and a pair of eyes flashing with pure fury: "Now you insult me, sir!"

"Ah, the little cat has found her tongue."

"Who can blame **_me_** on the _"generous welcome"_ you and your people have shown me so far? Would you like me to kiss your feet and thank you for all the _"wonderful treatment"_ I have received?"

"Well, that would be a nice start."

Jess suddenly wished she had something like a vase or stone in her hand, the blow from that might just take out some of this guy's arrogance. Instead, she returned with as much sarcasm as she dared let leaked into her voice: "How very kind of you. Perhaps you would like worship thrown in as well."

"You showing me more of that _"fine"_ talk of my class?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at her. "If you must know, I do know how to talk the low-class lingo which I believe I am more fluent at than you are at my class level."

"Fine. Let's get straight to the point. If you think for one minute that I will be gratefully to you for . . ." at that Jess used her head to gesture in the whole room and furnishings because her hands were preoccupied with a more important task, "you can think again."

"I don't expect you to feel that way," Treize coolly replied, getting up from his seat and dusting his bottom with a devil-may-care attitude.

"Wha . . . what?"

Seeing he had her full attention, Treize planted both hands on either side of her head, taking delight in seeing her face color while she made a futile attempt to disappear into the pillows.

"Let's just say I'm keeping you here for my pleasure. Make me happy and you will be happy, kapish?" he finally said after letting an uncomfortable silence pass between them. He was rewarded with her face turning a darker shade of red when she thought she knew what he was getting at.

Then he pushed himself off the bed and grabbed the dress off the chair he had draped over earlier. Throwing it into the startled girl's face, he commanded: "Put this on and be done with your hair and make up within one hour."

With that, he walked out and locked the door behind him. Leaving Jess to finally panic over her new situation.

* * *

"That lady in the store looked at me funny," Duo complained to the rest once he met up with them in Central Square of Tagraine. A small town located nears the coast of the sea, 52 miles south from the Fullerton area. 

Then he noticed something odd. The guys were back into women's clothing. Except for Trowa, of course.

"Idiot!" Wufei scolded under his breath, as he pulled him into the group. "One day in normal clothing and you forget you sound like a woman?"

Horrified, Duo cupped his hands over his mouth.

"Did you bring your ladies clothes?"

A grim shake of the head answered their question.

"Any extra cash to buy them?"

Another tearful shake of the head.

"Did you, by any chance, dispose of them in this town?"

The head slowly bowed low and finally shook with heavy regret.

The whole group heaved a sigh of tiredness. Such things were expected of Duo and as usual, no one had remembered that little annoying fact.

"Looks like you have to use those thieving skills again," Quatre concluded in a remorseful voice.

"So much for transparency," Wufei grumbled before breaking the group's tight circle.

"Hn." Heero agreed solemnly, giving his partner an irritated look.

"…"

However, on looking up, Duo's eyes suddenly lit up. He untied his braid and fanned his hair out, combing them quickly with his fingers. Ensuring that some fringe covered his jaw line.

"Wha . . ." Everyone was surprised by his sudden action. Then they followed the direction his eyes were looking. A familiar head of black hair, walking down the street some distance away, greeted their eyes.

"_Yoooou-whoooooo!_ Ron-darling!" They heard him call out before he started making a run for the tall, handsome figure.

"Somebody stop that MORON!" Wufei all but shrieked, taking off on the heels of the brunette. "Come back here, you buffoon! I'll even starve if that'll put clothes on you!"

But all his gallant promises came to naught. Wufei suddenly found himself crushed against a very familiar chest, something that he thought he would never be subjected to again.

"Oh Wuling, my love, I thought I will never see you again!" Karl Otheallo exclaimed with as much passion and fervour as he could squeeze his beloved into his manly front.

"Fumm mefe tze fu mf wu." _(That makes the two of us.)_ Wufei muffled out as his hands blindly searched for a firm hold.

Meanwhile, Heero decided that pretending he didn't know them was a better course of action and started to sneak away. Only to see that his escape route was cut off by David; who had, by some amazing skill, snaked up and had caught Quatre's hands in both his own. Thereby effectively holding Quatre (and Trowa as well) prisoner.

"My perfect princess," he heard the boy breathe over the poor blond who looked desperate enough to do what most girls would do to a guy when harassed, "how I missed you. Did you miss me too?"

"If I say yes, would you kindly let my hands go?" came the frightened plea from an equally freaked out guy. From where Heero was standing, he could tell that Trowa was highly amused from the way his eyes gleamed within their sockets, despite his deadpan expression. After all, this was Trowa's first time witnessing such a thing happen to all of them. So Heero took the best solution to his situation and slid up to stand alongside the redhead to wait out for the whole matter to blow over.

"**Why**, in this godforsaken town, are you **here**?" Wufei's pissed voice rang out loud and clear, his hands finally finding a perfect leverage on the boy's shoulders, allowing him to ply somewhat away from the unwanted affection.

But Karl was as thickheaded as ever. He answered his question as if it was perfectly normal for a guy to be holding a struggling girl in his arms, in the middle of a street, in front of a gaping crowd. In the back of his head, Wufei wondered if this was the result from the stuff they taught in St Edwin and felt secretly glad he didn't attend it at all.

"There will be a big party over at my place two days from now, and with St Edwin closed for repairs and all, naturally I returned back here," the brownish-red headed teen answered, looking at him through lowered lashes. Obviously a calculated move to seduce the weaker sex. Only thing is that Wufei, was by all means, NOT the weaker significant other by birth.

So instead of effecting the feelings he had painstakingly put effort for, Karl suddenly found himself spotting the remains of a forced up past luncheon on the front of his stripped Burbillion shirt.

"How could you?" the boy cried out, and for some strange reason, Wufei felt the pluckings of hope blossoming in his chest.

'_This could be it! Freedom!'_ he gleefully thought and wondered if there was more of that from where it came from. After all, the sinfully rich could not bear the slightest imperfection in anyone, much less the person they were to be seen publicly with. And Wufei had just broken the biggest rule: public humiliation of the partner.

Then all hopes were dashed as the young man continued: "You should have told me you were sick. Come, I will secure transport for you, my love. We must get you to a doctor immediately!"

By now, Wufei was sure that he had the densest suitor in whole of the universe. Sure, the persisting pursuit was admirable but being the victim of such attention, it was damn annoying.

Meanwhile, the young man shouted: "Willard!" and a middle-aged burly man, the size of a small oak tree, materialized at his side. Which was surprising because no one in the group had noticed such a person in the vicinity. Heero narrowed his eyes on seeing the guy's ability on swiftness and stealth.

"Get the car round here immediately. My young lady friend requires doctor's attention promptly." Karl commanded with the authority of a man who knew his status in life.

"As you wish, young sir," the servant replied in a humble voice and then whipped out a handphone, which he was soon talking with the presumed chauffer.

"You don't have to go through all this trouble," Wufei quickly excused himself, moving to break out of the circling arms. But he discovered almost immediately that the arms had more determination to hold him within the boy's embrace.

"What? And leave you sick and deteriorating out here? Never! I would not be able to hold my head high among society if word got out I let my future fiancé walk about in such a condition."

"Trust me. I'll feel a WHOLE lot better if you just let me be," the Chinese emphasized, trying to get away from both the boy and the sickly putrid stench his lunch remains were emitting.

Only after those words were said that Wufei regretted he ever said them at all. For wasn't all the encounters before this told him that somewhere in that twisted little mind of that guy, his words were going to get more twisted with insufferable romantic meanings thrown in?

And like all the other times, he wasn't disappointed for the boy nodded with a wisdom that only a lovesick idiot could attain and reply: "I understand how true your love for me is. The need to protect me from all these germs you carry! Such a noble and selfless act! The doctors available here are simply too low a standard for your delicate health. I will bring you to see my house doctors instead. They will be able detect what illness you suffer from."

"Besides, I will have no other partner but you to escort me to the party," he continued on seeing Wuling open her mouth to argue. "And I'm sure you will find the party most enlightening, if not entertaining, for most of the Federation big shots will be there. You shall be able to rub shoulders with the elite class members."

"Well, I ca . . ." Wufei started to reject the offer but he never got past the word "can't" for at that moment, Heero hurried forward and shoved his face into the guy's chest, ignoring the fact that he was pushing his friend's face into vomit. Hence cutting off all communication and whatever unpolluted air that was available to him at arm's length.

"She'll be happy to. Can we join?" Heero asked in an unaccustomed honeyed voice that no one had ever heard him use before, whether in guy's mode or girl's mode. That made a few pairs of eyes popped.

Meanwhile, Wufei swore to himself he would one day get hold of Heero's gun and shoot him with it as revenge.


	78. Jealousy

_AN: I apologize for this really late chapter again. I've been writing on the go but haven't found the time to write them down in word._

_Anyway, due to the lack of time, I'll be KIVing the acknowledgements of my reviewers. I'm so sorry but I'm really hard pressed for time. But do note, all of you, especially my faithful reviewers, will always have a special place in my heart for taking the extra effort to let me know whether I've improved or lacking in any area. _

_You guys are truly the sunshine in my writings and my only other motivation, besides my inspiration to write. So please don't be dishearten when you don't see your name anymore. In the end, just remember you are the ones that urge me to push beyond the boundaries of my imagination and take on challenges of the literature type._

_Once again I thank you all._

**Chapter 78**

Treize watched as another oyster shell went flying through the air for the umpteen time to hit Roddrick with astounding accuracy.

And apparently the man had gotten used to such treatment because he shifted his side plate with amazing speed. Catching the falling debris neatly atop a small growing pile of seafood collectables. Courtesy from a young missy sitting nonchalantly at Treize's side, look unapologetic about the whole matter.

"That will enough seafood for you from now on," he told her firmly, taking the slim silver plying stick out of one hand and the lobster claw out of the other. "I request that you either wait for me to feed you a morsel of it or you simply have to do without it."

Meanwhile, he couldn't help glancing at the empty seat on the other side of the girl. Xehon had to leave early to nurse a black eye, a gift from the girl for valiantly attempting to extract out the crab's flesh from its shell with the handle of a serving spoon. Now, not only was the seat empty, so was the space where the serving spoon should have laid.

Jess, on the other hand, couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong with the whole picture.

First and foremost, they were in the canteen having dinner. Or rather trying to enact out what was suppose to be an elegant dinner function. However, with the bare walls, the riot of noise filling every nook and corner, the cold, sterilized metal tables and chairs being the only décor of the room, it required quite a lot of imagination out of Jess's mind.

Secondly, the men were dressed in formal attire, trying to put up a good show of finesse. Which unfortunately, was failing miserably, due to the fact that the war-hardened veterans did not have the bearing to go with such attires nor the etiquette to match such a prestigious setting.

Which brought to mind the third discrepancy. Except for the gentleman sitting at her side, the others simply looked as if they had squeezed their bodies into shirts a size too small and pants a size too long or tight. Leading to the conclusion that the person most likely to own the suits was none other than the young man sitting right next to her, since the style of the clothes were terribly similar to his. Not that Jess minded. Most of them chose to leave the front open, baring battle scars and beefed-up muscles that would have made Jess drool if the situation was not so laughable.

'_But what is the reason for his generosity? Why the attempt to create such an elaborate atmosphere?'_ she pondered.

Unfortunately, the serving of the main course interrupted Jess's line of thoughts. For a moment, she stared at the huge slab of beefsteak placed down in front of her, unable to believe that in a war-torn universe, she could eat something as expensive as this. After all, who would have the time to breed cows when one was fleeing from the range of fire?

That thought made her frown a bit, recalling that the only meat she got abroad the headquarters back when she was with the G-boys, was fish and mock beef made from soybeans produce. In fact, the only other time she got to eat real meat, which came from chickens and ducks, was when she was studying in that prestigious St Hilary's School.

No doubt disturbing, but something not practical at the moment. Picking up her fork and knife, Jess decided she would ponder on it more after dinner. That is until she realized that the very same man who forced her to join dinner took her food away.

"Hey!" she started to protest, but was stopped short by his gentle admonishment: "Oh do be quiet. You obviously never had been to such functions before."

"What makes you so sure?"

"The way you hold your knife and fork is most unbenefitting of our class. What do you plan to do? Give it a second death?

"Ha ha, very funny," Jess returned under her breath, but she let the subject drop for the gentleman pushed the plate back to her, the meat neatly cut into cubes.

"From now on, I insist you wait until I am done cutting before you take any piece of food," Treize continued, turning his attention to arranging the glasses of water within easy reach. "Not only will that benefit the both of us but it should earn you at least some credibility on the lies I will be telling about you."

On the other side of Treize, Lady Une gave a gentle cough and tapped her plate lightly with a finger.

Catching onto the lady's hints, Jess asked: "What about her? You gonna do the same for her?"

"You only need to worry about yourself. There is neither need for me to lie about her position in society nor concern myself unnecessary about her conduct. I am most assured that she knows how to conduct herself at such events unlike you, and her upbringing is one to be envied by the ladies of her class."

"So you will be escorting the both of us?"

"Hardly. I need someone here in my stead. She will be taking care of things while I am gone with you for the weekend."

No sooner were those words spoken that the whole canteen fell silent. Gone were the usual clatter of knifes and forks on the plates and the rowdy batter of words between the men. Just complete, deafening, silence.

And it didn't take a fool to understand why, especially for a girl who had watched Gundam Wing before. Jess knew that Lady Une carried a torch (a huge one at that) for Treize from watching the series, and apparently, so did the army. The only person dense about the whole matter was none other than the targeted man, his callous statement making it all the more painfully obvious.

Praying with all her heart for divine protection, Jess stole a peek out of the corner of her eye, expecting a blaze of color on the lady's cheeks or her eyes aiming invisible daggers with murderous intent at her direction. However, she was pleasantly surprised to see the lady smiling so serenely at the guy of her affections.

"Of course, how silly of me," she answered, her words practically dripping with honey. "You can leave everything to me." With that, Lady Une displayed a wonderful smile, looking as if she was delighted to be given such a responsibility.

'_Am I imagining things?'_ Jess wondered as she watched Treize returned her words with an easy smile and a small speech about how he trusted her absolutely and was glad that he had such a friend in her.

Then they returned to dinner and everything looked fine until Lady Une jabbed her fork straight into the steak before dragging the knife across it, producing the most inhuman, ear-shattering, hair-raising shriek that was ever known to mankind.

'_Okay . . . Maybe not.' _Jess concluded, wishing she was somewhere else. After all, didn't Treize indirectly dump Lady Une for her? And to announce it out loud to the whole canteen too. Jess could only envision what would lie ahead for her should she return from the party, if Lady Une was willing to wait that long to undertake her revenge. Already, from Lady Une's action, she was probably imagining that the steak was her flesh instead.

* * *

Meanwhile, a couple of seats down the table, hundreds of men were tensely guessing their fate with whispered urgency. 

"Shoot! Did ya hear what I think I'd just heard?"

A god-awful, shrill scream, as knife-edge met glass surface, answered the soldiers' fears.

"I thin' I'm gonna be sick," whispered a meek Vanirald, and despite his dark skin passed onto him from generations of Indians, he really did look sick.

"Get a hold of yourself, man," his platoon leader commanded under hushed tones, but his order trailed off in the face of another high-pitch, painful, reluctant protest emitting from Lady Une's plate.

"She's coming back," one-man whispered in awe and fear.

"Who is?" a puzzled new recruit asked, amazed that such a statement could evoke soldiers across many ranks to make signs of the cross.

"The lady from hell," Vanirald moaned in despair, in a voice that sounded like the end of the world had come. "Psyco Lady."

"What on the freaking earth did she do?"

"If I remembered correctly, the last time the commander slighted her over his friend, she made the whole army drill through the night."

"Nothin' wrong with that."

"After a whole week of out camp training? Not to mention **no one** had a chance to get a wink of sleep the night before?!"

"Oh…"

"Note that the friend he slighted her over was male. This time it's a female!" A corporal pointed out the fact in dread. "It'll get much worse than last time."

"I think I'm gonna call in sick at the sick bay," Vanirald muttered, getting out of his seat.

"Good thinking," the soldiers on his left and right agreed, latching onto his idea and moved likewise to join him.

"Pass the banana," Ronnie's companion whispered into his ear, nudging him into action.

"Why?"

"I need to puke and that would be a handy source of evidence.

"Seriously? This I'll have to try."

"How interesting," a female's voice contributed and despite the fact that the voice was neither loud nor harsh, it was enough to freeze everyone in mid-action.

As if unable to resist a hidden force, every head in the room gravitated around to look at the person who spoke. Lady Une's calm countenance greeted their field of vision, her hair all bun up and her glasses perched neatly on the bridge of her nose. The telltale signs of the "Switching".

"_Aw . . . Shucks."_ Someone whispered amongst the crowd, his breath moving through the silent room like the wind through a cornfield.

However, Lady Une broke into a gentle smile and waited.

The tension in the room heightened, anticipating the horror to come next.

"What? No more suggestions?" Lady Une prompted after a full minute had gone by and no one said a single word.

Heads started shaking across the room.

"I suppose all of you are healthy then?"

Nod, nod.

Drawing a sharp breath and puffing out her chest, Lady Une got ready the punishment to be melted out to the men.

"Excellent. Everyone out on the field now! I want you to do fifty laps of running. Once you are done running, report to me immediately. I will assign each of you an exercise routine to be completed by dawn. Many of you have been in poor shape lately and the exercise will help you build stamina."

It was then that Vanirald became really sick.

* * *

"**AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH**!" the blood-curdling scream reverberated through the sprawling mansion, sending shock waves through the occupants within the marbled compound, bringing them to their feet and running towards the sound to see who had been murdered. 

Trowa, being the closest to the source, was the first to reach. Only to be utterly shocked when the door flew opened and a sobbing Wufei hurled himself into his chest.

"What the . . ." and the thought trailed off thanks to an overwhelming feeling of disorientation on seeing the male-chauvinistic Wufei displaying such a womanly trait, which on normal days the very same person would hold in contempt of it.

Then, as more people gathered to stare agape at this unusual sight, Trowa suddenly wished he was somewhere else. Preferably amongst the audience instead of being center of attraction.

Already, he could see Duo starting to grin as he whipped out a camera to take a photo, no doubt a gift from the "beau" he was currently deceiving. It was times like this that Trowa mind's snapped into action and started calculating how quick he could grab a dagger from within his shirt pocket, flick it towards the lens and destroy it without anyone noticing any subtle movement from him.

But Heero appeared just in a nick of time, snatching the camera out of his co-pilot's hands and relieving him of his trouble. Meanwhile, Quatre appeared and took the sobbing Wufei out of his hands, understanding his discomfort and whatever injustice Wufei seemed to suffering at the moment. Leaving him the nasty job of chasing the servants back to their respective chores.

Which was a pity, because Trowa didn't feel like uttering a single word after that disconcerting episode. So he just waved his hands in a shooing motion, ignoring the looks of irritation and disgruntlement aimed at him from the retreating servants.

Once it became just the five of them alone in the hallway, Quatre finally questioned the emotional boy: "What is wrong? What happened?"

At that, Wufei pointed at the opened door with a shaking hand, unable to bring himself to look into the room beyond the door. With great caution and curiosity, everyone leaned forward to peer upon the nameless fear that could reduce their friend to such a pathetic, snivelling, wimp.

Pink greeted their eyes.

From top to bottom, window to door, ceiling to floor, it was pink, pink, pink. Nothing but pink. Pink colours of pastel shades, various textures and combination. Pink curtains, pink bed sheets, pink blankets and matching pillows, pink dressing tables, pink cupboards, pink cushions and rugs . . . even the floor was pink marble.

It was like the room decorator had heard the nursery rhyme about girls being all things "nice and sweet", and decided that pink stood for exactly that. Bringing to life a pink explosion of color within the room and throwing in a couple of pink feathers to complete the effect. On seeing such a room, every single boy felt sorry for the victim except one.

Duo gave a low whistle and started gloating. "That's gotta be the pinkest room I've ever saw. Man . . . It is so pink! Reminds me of St Hilary's uniform but at least that was maroon more than pink."

Underneath his soothing hand, Quatre felt a muscle twitch on Wufei's back. A sign of stress.

"_Oooo . . ._ Can anything get more pink?" Duo continued, venturing into the room to get a closer look. "Wow . . . pink lipsticks of every shade. Even the perfume is filled with pink liquid. And such a flora smell . . ."

The muscle twitched on Wufei's back again. Quatre immediately dropped his hand and stepped back, sensing imminent danger. All the while shooting worried looks at the Heero and trying his subtle best to signal Trowa to get Duo to zip it.

But as far as the brunette was concerned, this was payback for all the times Wufei had rebuked him on his lack of discipline. Plus, the chance to mock the straight-laced boy was too good an opportunity to give up. Not to mention, Duo spied a number of feminine treasure stuff that he was sure the Chinese wouldn't miss if he decided to do a bit of "borrowing".

"Wow . . . Even the toilet's pink. You've got it going man! Pink towels, pink bathrobes, pink tiles, even the bathtub, sink and toilet seat are pGarh!" Thanks to Duo's gloating, Wufei recovered from his pink phobia and re-discovered a new goal that could override everything else: the desire to kill his co-pilot.

"You really shouldn't have pushed it," Quatre remarked from the safety of the door, watching his two other friend strolls over and try to pry away the murderous fingers wrapped securely around the American's neck.

"Just a little longer," Wufei muttered through clenched teeth to no one in particular, fighting against the two pairs of hands trying to lessen his grip on his tormentor's neck.

"Let go." Heero commanded; kicking him behind the legs to make him lose his balance while Trowa grabbed his forearms to help along the natural instinct of flinging out both arms to keep balance, and to ensure his friend didn't fall.

Duo fell into crumpled silk heap upon the floor, hackling and coughing while trying to regain his breath. However, none of them felt sorry for him, considering that he had went too far in his jokes.

"I want to change partners or in the very least, rooms!" Wufei stated, looking down with dispassion on his victim.

"How?" Quatre questioned, coming into the room now that the storm had passed. "It is not like you can go to Duo's fiancée and demand: 'Fall in love with me.' It is too ludicrous."

"Ever heard of feminine wills?"

"You? No. Him? Yes." Quatre pointed out the horrible truth while Heero burst out laughing and Trowa nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll just use whatever female charms I have on the current one and get him to change."

"Admit Wu. You suck at being a girl. Even Jess had problems . . ." Duo rebutted but at the mention of Jess, he lost track of his thoughts and fell silent, feeling regretful that they had allowed a comrade to be captured.

"We must succeed in getting her back," Wufei spoke for all of them, clenching his fist as a sign of determination. "But first . . . I have to change my room." With that, he marched out, leaving his bemused friends to trail after him to watch the interesting showdown between him and his "lover".


	79. Saving Jess

**Chapter 79**

Two days went by without much fuss after the little episode on Wufei's room. In the end, he was given a plain white room meant for ordinary visitors just to suit his taste. Not that he was complaining; the library was just next-door. This was the place where he spent most of his time browsing and reading, almost forgetting the fact that his situation was far from desirable.

Quatre and Trowa were given rooms for distinguished guests as benefiting their status since Wufei insisted that they were accompanying him in place of his sister, who had to attend to some matters back home. Much to Quatre's relief because he was less inclined to accept boarding from his current suitor, let alone convinced of the boy's integrity and honor.

On the other hand, the Raceland sisters had no problem securing housing thanks to Duo's "fiancé". Like a true gentleman, sticking firmly to proper conduct codes, he had arranged a comfortable suite for them in a posh hotel and ensured that his personal chauffer was at their disposal round the clock. Somehow making the rest both jealous and uncomfortable for harvesting such feelings towards such an awkward relationship if truth be told.

"Have you gotten your dress ready?" Duo chirped, looking in high spirits for the party. That earned him angry glares from Wufei and Heero.

They were in the library, discussing the mission they had to accomplish by the party's end comes hither. So far, the only solution was to either kidnap Treize or enter his room, search for keycodes and then break into The Federation headquarters before dawn. Which was near impossible, taking into account the time it would take to travel from Planet L1 to the headquarters, securing transport and returning to the party without anyone noticing their absences; which posed a huge problem since _they_ were the ones embroiled in some way with the son whose family was hosting the party.

And to top it all off, Duo's mind had to be focused on the party.

"Is fun all you think about, Maxwell? Have you forgotten what we are suppose do?" Wufei crossly reprimanded him.

"Hn." Heero agreed, giving him an additional whack to the head.

"Chill, chill. Nothing's wrong with having fun at the same time. 'All work and no play makes Jack and Jill dull persons' they say."

"Surprise. Maybe you hanging around that Ronald guy is really working wonders. You've widened your idioms," Wufei remarked under his breath.

"Ok, I'll be serious. I think kidnapping Treize would be a better option. Honestly, I don't think that guy would leave the door codes lying about for us to find. More like memorize them in his head."

"Will wonders never cease?" this time Wufei commented out loud, genuine amazement in his voice. "I'm beginning to believe this Ron might be the one for you after all."

"Hn."

"Hee-chan!"

Then Quatre and Trowa entered the room with two trays laden with snacks and drinks. As they arranged the food out neatly on the table, Quatre asked: "So what is the course of action we shall undertake?"

"Kidnap carrot-top," Wufei answered curtly, his hand reaching out for the bag of potato chips.

"Get information out of him," Duo added in cheerfully, now in high spirits because there was food on the table in front of him.

Or bait Lady Une," Heero countered darkly, his eyes shadowed with deep foreboding.

On hearing that, the rest of them felt a chilly brush of wind pass through the room and shivered. No one liked hitting on Lady Une's bad side. Hell had no fury like Lady Une's.

". . . Scrape?" Trowa asked hopefully, the only betrayal of his uneasiness was that he nearly dropped the glass he was setting on the table when Heero suggested the alternative.

"Nh hn."

". . ."

"You know . . . If we get hold of his luggage before his arrival in the airport, we might be able to pull out the keycodes without either options." Quatre pondered aloud, cupping his chin between his thumb and forefinger. "I mean, we might be able to come up with some clues at least . . ."

"Who's with Quatre?" Duo butted in and immediately pounced on the opportunity by shooting up his hand, followed closely by Trowa.

"This is MUCH better," Wufei agreed and raised his hand as well.

Seeing their united front, Heero nodded and pulled his laptop onto his lap.

"Let me get his landing schedule."

"I'll check for vacancies in the luggage department," Wufei contributed before getting up and strolling out the library, his steps in tune to a melody he started to whistle.

"I'll arrange for transport," Quatre announced to no one in particular and made a beeline for the upper floor, Trowa trailing behind him, munching on an orange slice.

"I'll ask Ronald to come along," Duo happily added, making a move to get up from the floor.

"Hn?"

"There's this lovely pearl necklace they're selling at the duty-free shop and . . ."

**Pow **

Heero ignored the book that bounced off the floor before rolling to a stop beside his feet. As long as Duo was out of commission for today, it was excusable for Quatre to drop a bit of common sense with the Oxford Dictionary onto the American's head.

* * *

Jess finally lifted her head from the nauseating contents that used to be her lunch; to look out the window as the space shuttle cruised through the galaxies. One thing she learnt from this unpleasant episode was that she definitely had space-travel sickness, something that couldn't be overcome by frequent traveling.

Meanwhile, her "chaperon" had been most accommodating; keeping silent when she threw up her first batch of lunch over him, handling her the bag to put the rest of her stomach in and remaining cheerful despite the fact that he had to wear his soiled garments till they reached the airport.

Such effort was commendable if not admirable. Jess's heart would have been swayed by such gallantness, if the image of Lady Une's murderous look on their parting had not been firmly etched into her mind. Anything that Lady Urn was interested in, woe be anyone who took them away from her.

"Feeling better?" her companion questioned, concern written on his handsome face.

All Jess could manage was a weak nod and an embarrassed glance in his direction, noticing immediately the glaring brown stain in stark contrast with the white of his shirt where soap and water failed to remove it.

"Oh, this little thing?" Treize asked on noting her discomfort, "It's nothing." And with a wave of his hand, dismissed the topic. "Now tell me, what sports do you like?"

"What?" Jess was taken aback by the question that seemed to hold no importance.

"Surely you cannot mean for me to go in there knowing nothing about you," the man reasoned in a matter-of-fact way, looking down at her as if he was sure she would not refuse.

"What do you want to accomplish by knowing something like that?"

"You'll see at the party. Now tell me, what sports do you play?"

"Marathons, woman's ruby, softball, anything else you would like to know?"

On hearing her answers, Treize made a face. "You sure those are the sports you like?"

"No. They're sports I take up for extra-curriculum."

"I see. So you don't play them."

"No. I **do **play them. Extra-curriculum is compulsory in my school."

"Oh pooh. From now on, your sports shall be professional singing and horse-riding."

"Excuse me?"

"I said your sports shall be professional singing and horse-riding."

"You have got to be joking! I can't ride for nuts and have you ever heard me sing?"

"Why? You cannot?"

". . ." at that, Jess shut her trap. To say she couldn't sing was demeaning herself, something she wasn't ecstatic to do in front other people, let alone a complete stranger and the enemy to boot.

"You're going over-board with _professional_ singing," she finally let on, sinking back into her seat to sulk.

"Nothing less than perfection for me," Treize concluded with unparalleled confidence before whipping out a palm-size notebook to jolt down what he had decided for her. "Now tell me about your studies and qualifications."

"What for? You're doing an excellent job fabricating my existence."

"Nonsense. I will use whatever knowledge benefiting you (and me) to standard. I want to give others the impression of you as you genuinely are."

"So if I tell you my level was at junior college, what will you give me?"

"The fine young ladies college certification. See? We are connecting. Meanwhile, you are to say you are currently studying for the entrance exams of Leander's University."

"Some fine young ladies university?"

"Correct. Only ladies of top quality and intelligence are allowed to seat for the examinations."

"How wonderful," Jess mocked and watched as her words fell on deaf ears.

For once in her life, Jess understood and pitied the loneliness and jealousy of Lady Une.

* * *

_Friday mid-morning – Planet L1 shuttle airport_

"Hey! You two, get up!" a heavy-set man commanded, giving Trowa a small kick on his calf.

Cracking an eyelid open, Trowa studied the man. He looked about 1.63 meters tall and had a beer belly protruding from his expandable pants. A pair of eyes, surrounded by flesh gained from years of over-eating and skiving at work, bore hostility directed at him. His mouth, that looked like it never smiled, now held a disapproving sneer, showing a badly decayed tooth that no doubt was contributing to his bad temper. 'Hank' was the name as Trowa recalled, and it gave a face to the word "slave-driver".

Meanwhile, on his right, Heero stretched and obediently got up from the makeshift bed of luggage in the lost-and-found section. They had been working all night as temporary workers, thanks to the aristocrats coming in from all over the galaxy to attend the gala affair. No doubt this made getting the desired job easier, but the workplace sucked thanks to the bullying of the superiors on the juniors.

Taking his cue from the half-hearted nudge he received from Heero's knee, Trowa took his time getting to his feet. Such people like that were easy to cut down to size but such actions would conflict with their goal. What Trowa didn't expect was the dirty stint Hank pulled when he was barely on his feet; delivering a slap across his face with the cap he had snatched off his head.

"Don't give me attitude, boy," the middle-aged man threatened when he lifted his head to meet the man's eyes. "Now get out there and work!" With that, the pot-bellied man threw his cap out the door.

It was then that Heero took the situation into his own hands.

"Sorry," he apologized and pushed Trowa out, holding Trowa's arms firmly down to the sides until they were at the cargo area.

". . ."

Sensing his dissatisfaction, Heero reached down, grabbed his hand and deposited some metal things into the open palm. Taking a look at the items, Trowa's eyes widened. He was holding the keys that Hank was supposed to be in-charge of.

It was then, without a word passing between them, Trowa understood Heero's intentions. Sharing a wicked smile, the both of them marched into the cargo area to continue with their work.


	80. Airport Trouble

**Chapter 88**

"Would you like me to help you with your luggage?" a pleasant voice chimed to the left of Treize's ear.

Looking for the source, Treize found himself looking upon a pretty air-stewardess. Her lovely large almond-eyes stared imploringly at him, brown-eyed hope written in them that he would favor her his attention.

"Yes, thank you very much," he replied with a quick smile and handed her his coat.

Just as she took his coat off his arm, the familiar strains of gagging reached his ears, accompanied by the usual chaos that ensued once the girl had unceremoniously dumped her contents on another unsuspecting victim.

"On second thought, maybe this," he corrected himself and snatched the coat out of the surprised girl's hands, dropping his night bag at her feet instead. Spinning swiftly on one foot, he did a splendid about-turn and made a lunge for the girl, wrapping his coat expertly round her mouth and nostrils, praying desperately that the material would hold until he got her to the nearest bin.

And away from the outraged senator whose face had changed to a dark shade of purple from deep anger.

"I thought you emptied everything in your stomach while in the shuttle," he accused, scooping her up in his arms before backing away with as much dignity and speed that his station in life would afford him to.

Noting that the senator had half a mind to follow them, he quickly threw an expression that said it all among the male species: "Women! Creatures of trouble."

Thankfully, the senator understood the common term and decided to attend to his own affairs, leaving his wife to voice verbally her complaints about the girl's lack of mannerisms; her words following their retreating backs.

Meanwhile, the girl stayed limp in his arms, like a rag doll that he had seen when he was young, draped on a chair in a toyshop, lifeless and dull. She was awake but barely, her arms crossed protectively over her stomach as she used her remaining strength to quell the turmoil warring in the pits of her abdomen.

Feeling pity for the pathetic state she was in, Treize decided that he would push her for an answer later. Right after he got her to a bin and treated her to a nice hot tea with salted biscuits. Such was the emergency at hand that he failed to notice two familiar faces that would have set alarm bells ringing in his head, both of them staring agape at the scene that the girl had created.

* * *

"What do you mean Treize is with Jess?" Wufei demanded into the phone, gripping the handle so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"Hn?"

"I don't like guessing games, Yuy," Wufei gritted out, concluding that Doctor J had done too good a job on Heero. Getting information out of Heero was like pulling teeth that were rooted in deep. Both were painful and agonizing.

"He's with her. What's so hard to understand?"

"Get Trowa on the line!" Wufei demanded and shoved the receiver into a surprised Quatre's hands.

"What is this for?" the blond questioned and got a withering look from his Chinese friend.

Putting the receiver gingerly to his ears, he asked Trowa: "Could you tell us what you saw?" Then he went quiet, listening with intense concentration.

A minute went by, then another. Duo and Wufei strained forward to hear what the German boy was saying but they could hear nothing.

"Well. . . ?" Duo poked the Arab in the ribs, his patience at it's end.

Looking up with a startled expression, Quatre answered: "He is not saying a word."

If there was anything that could justify murder, Wufei was sure this was it. Minutes of precious time had been wasted on absolutely nothing!

Meanwhile, Duo had thrown up his hands in exasperation and declared: "Well duh! That's why we got you to decipher him."

"I am most offended by that and on Trowa's behalf. You make him sound like a complex puzzle and me like a psychic."

"For Trowa, yes, that is your role."

"Utter nonsense. He has spoken to you people numerous of times."

"Through you? Yes. To us direct? I can count those times with one hand."

"Ha ha, very funny," Quatre rebutted back, looking most sour. "Anyway, it is simply impossible for me to know what exactly he is thinking right now."

"Didn't seem to affect you the other times," Wufei muttered darkly, grabbing the phone out of Quatre's hand and demanding for Yuy again.

"If you must know, I am an excellent face reader. Your insensitivity only restricts you from understanding Trowa better if you ask me."

"What on **earth** are you talking about?" Duo asked, incredulousness written all over his face. "Trowa NEVER shows any emotion except when he is fighting."

"Well, then it is obvious you . . ."

"Enough!" Wufei commanded, making a slicing motion through the air with his hand. "I can't hear Heero if the two of you keep bickering."

"But he. . ." the two boys started to protest but were silenced when Wufei made the slicing motion again.

Reaching over, Duo pressed the speaker button, ignoring the Chinese's look of irritation as Yuy's voice flooded the room.

" . . . Affirmative. They both arrived together."

"Any chance she is been held prisoner?" Quatre questioned, worry evident in his voice.

"Negative."

"How can you be so sure?"

Once the question was voiced, a loud "thud!" greeted them on the other end of the line. As if something solid had been thrown to the ground. Then there was a sharp "pinging" sound of a lock been forcibly sprang.

"What was that?" Quatre tentatively probed.

"Her luggage. . ." This time the answer came from Trowa in the background, making two pairs of eyes widen. Apparently the boys had their ear-transmitters plugged into the phone for two-way intercom sharing.

"What are you doing going through something so private?"

"Is that what's bothering you?" Wufei asked, turning to the petite boy, disbelieve on his face. "Shouldn't it be like: how can she have luggage?"

"Well . . . That is pressing as well . . ."

"Never mind that. What has she got?" Duo quipped, looking terribly interested.

"Maxwell!"

"Raceland to you," the American coolly returned before turning his attention back to the phone. "Spill man."

"Hn . . . A box of cosmetics, undies, dresses . . ."

"Made of Russian silk and Indian Chiffon," Trowa cut in, his tone solemn. Obviously he was smarting from the earlier jab that he was too silent for his own good.

"Shoes, jewellery . . ."

". . .The kind that you can't buy off any department store. . ."

Silence punctuated the air after that piece of information. Apparently, Yuy was getting annoyed with the interruptions.

"Any chance they are better than my stuff?"

"Raceland!"

"Dorine will do just fine," Duo returned with a smirk and took off running, keeping out of the "saucepan of justice" hitting range as Wufei chased him out of the library.

Once sure that they were out of hearing, Quatre dropped all light-heartedness out of his voice and asked the dreadful question: "So, do we eliminate her?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while before Yuy finally spoke: "Hn."

"I will provide second offence if you fail," Quatre added in before reaching across to end the call.

* * *

"Go find your luggage!" Jess mimic the way Treize had ordered her as she stomped down the arrival hall to the lost and found section, accompanied by two soldiers who looked bored out of their lives playing nanny to a young girl. "'Stop throwing up! How can you throw up if you have already emptied your stomach of everything?' Like I know the answers to that!"

Making a sharp turn to the right, she took a step into the room and stopped short, unable to believe her eyes. The room was just four walls with no windows, piled high to the ceiling with luggage accumulated over the years. It looked as if one wrong pull would send a whole avalanche of bags falling on top of the unfortunate souls standing beneath it. Apparently the guards knew about the room for they stopped outside the door to chat up some pretty stewardess passing by.

Seeing their carefree attitude and nonchalant indifference to the fact that she was the same species as those girls, she threw the door closed. Ignoring the laughter that drifted through the wood, taunting her on her childlike ways.

It was only then she realized she wasn't in the room alone. Two young men were busy working on the bags at the far left corner, stacking them on top of one another according to colour and size. If there was ever a chance of escape, Jess was sure she was looking at it. Reaching deep into her pockets, she extracted out the fifty dollar note she took on Treize's behalf as change for tea.

Picking out the guy with the height closest to her own, she slid up to him and nudged him in the side.

"Pssst," she whispered to the guy out of the corner of her mouth, her eyes trained on the door. "What say I give you this nice big fifty dollars note if you let me borrow your overalls?"

The guy continued to work, ignoring her question.

"I'll even let you keep my luggage too. I think there are some expensive stuff in there you can sell for a nice profit."

More silence greeted her.

"Oi! I don't usually do this kind of thing you know. And fifty dollar isn't easy to come by like this if you know what I mean."

She heard the boy grunt a rebuttal and finally took her eyes off the door. He had his face averted from her, as if she had made an indecent proposal. The cap he wore hid the majority of his face in the shadows.

Feeling color creep into her cheeks, Jess clamped her mouth shut. So much for bribing. Now she was reminded of the villains of old and how they did their shady business.

"Sorry," she quickly apologized and backed off. "Forget I said that."

Whether it was a red cheeks or her words, the two boys suddenly broke into laughter. Laughter that was strangely familiar to her ears.

"He . . . Heero? Trowa?" she spoke in amazement, feeling her heart leap with joy.

"Hn," came the reply and the Japanese boy whipped off his cap, revealing his trademark messy brown hair. Meanwhile, the taller boy moved forward and took off his cap, revealing green eyes twinkling with mirth.

"You guys . . ." she started to say but was cut short by a sudden pounding on the door.

"Hey! What's going on in there? Lady Jess?"

"Break it down." This cold order came from a distinctively recognizable voice that she only knew too well because of the last few hours being spent with him.

For a heartbeat of a moment, Jess looked at the boys, feeling the blood drain from her face. If Treize entered now, the two boys would be interrogated and their identities exposed. Then she noticed with a sick feeling, the two of them putting their hands into their overalls, getting ready to do an all out shooting within the confines of the room that would surely be their grave.

Between the devil and sea, what was a normal girl to do?

With a silent sigh of regret, she pulled the largest bottom bag out and braced herself for the pain that came with the tidal wave of luggage crashing down upon them.


	81. Cutting Close

**Chapter 81**

Treize's blood froze on hearing the sudden sound of crashing coming from the other side of the door. It was as if someone had ran a bulldozer through the walls or unleashed a bomb.

"Get that door open NOW!" he ordered, looking at his men fiercely, his eyes showing promise that there would be trouble should anything onward happen to the girl.

That was enough to send all his men jumping into action.

Pulling out their guns and getting ready, the nearest soldier shot the lock off the door before throwing it open. But for all their readiness, nothing prepared them for was to happen next.

One minute they were heading forward, the next minute they were battling suitcases that rained down on them in torrents of colors and sizes. The sound of clatter thundering through the airport's departure hall, attracting interest that Treize would much rather like to avoid. Sighing deeply and messaging his temples, he guessed that the present consequences at hand were inevitably the girl's fault.

As the groans of his men rose from amidst the mess of humans and luggage, he strode forward to find the familiar head of black hair among the jumble.

He took no more than five steps before he spotted the miserable face looking up at him from beneath a pile of black hard cases that no doubt would ensure she would have a splitting headache for the rest of the day.

Squatting down, he gave her a hard look to let her know how displeased he was with her for all the trouble she had caused him and his men. Only to realize that her eyes were unfocused, doing an impossible feat that no normal humans could accomplish, at least the ones he knew. Watching in fascination as one eye went swirling up while the other went swirling down, for once, the unfamiliar emotion of pure, unadulterated laughter welled up in him. Something he had not experienced in a long time since he started moving up the ranks of The Federation.

For a moment, he controlled that emotion, willing it to disappear. However, on deeper reflection, he realized that all his life, he had controlled everything around and inside of him. In return for that, he had lost something precious. His own identity.

Throwing back his head, he let out a boisterous laugh, wallowing in the exhilaration of happiness that came with the freedom of expressing oneself openly. After all, the one in front of him did not carry any significant impact on his life nor on his men, for to the world, he knew they saw him as a man, deeply amused by the antics of a child whose status was close to that of an animal.

Then, as his reservoir of humor drained, he started contemplating the girl in a different light, seeing her in a different angle from the view he once held.

Freedom was rare in the circles of his society, demanding he fulfilled a certain perception as benefiting his rank in life. However, in front of this slip of a person, he need not be the harsh commander nor the dignified gentleman. In front of this girl, he could simply be himself without worrying about the impact of impression on others.

Gathering the girl up into his arms, he stood up and barked at his men to stand up and show some mantel. The moment everyone of them complied, without another word, Treize motioned them with his head to follow his lead.

"What about her luggage?" one of the men asked, shaking his head in an effort to clear the ominous ringing in his ears. One thing for certain, none of them were gonna forget this painful experience in a hurry.

"What about it?" their commander questioned without looking back over his shoulder at him. The chill in his voice immediately cleared all grogginess in each man's head.

"Shall I go searching for it, Sir?" one of them tentatively suggested, whose voice Treize recognized as one of the guards assigned to accompany the girl to retrieve her bags from the lost and found section.

Without turning around to show the cruel smile forming on his lips, Treize answered calmly: "No need to worry. You will just have to shop for the clothes later. Each of you will be assigned to a shop and since this unpleasant episode occurred thanks to your tardiness, this will simply have to come out of your salary."

With that, he marched forward, enjoying the groans of discontentment coming from his men as they followed.

* * *

With a giant effort, Heero finally managed to shove off the large purple luggage with large print flowers from his chest. It was one of those days that he and the boys termed "Jess days," and frankly, they were getting used to it bit by bit. If truth be told, he would be surprised if she didn't do something so silly and yet so destructive like this at a crucial moment.

Sitting up, he start assessing the situation. The once neat and tidy room now looked like the normal dismal war zone after a battle. Suitcases were sewn everywhere, some with their contents spilling out and their colors were mixed up to boot.

Somewhere to the left of him, a suitcase jumped up and went flying to the bottom of the heap, revealing an annoyed Trowa who sat up only to clutch the forefront of his head. Apparently, the tumble of suitcases did more than divert The Federation's attention. It also evoked an immense headache for his friend.

"Saving us or killing us?" Heero asked his companion, picking himself up while ignoring the pain that shot up from his ankle. Whatever was making it throb, Heero had no wish to know until he was back at the hotel and in the bathtub, enjoying his own private time.

". . . Kill. If that's saving us . . ." Trowa left the thought hanging in the air, the unsaid words driving home the point that such things were better left to someone else better than her.

"Hn . . . better inform the rest to call off the assault for now. Phone?"

". . ."

"What?"

"Wasn't it with you?"

"No, I thought it was with you . . ."

Taking in the room's scenery for the second time, the two boys felt their hearts sink even deeper.

". . . Shoot . . ."

"Hn."

* * *

Treize watched with amusement as the girl frantically started pushing all the buttons she could reach once they got into the limousine.

"If you are trying to find the unlocking mechanism to the door," he spoke, moving his head to avoid the ice bucket that came springing out, "You can forget it. It is with the driver up front."

The girl ignored him and continued pressing the buttons, her eyes actively searching for the button that would give her heart's desire.

Meanwhile, his men were looking at him pleadingly. Especially Josh who got a shock of his life when he opened his mouth to yawn. The lighter was no little instrument to be fiddled with and apparently Josh got first hand experience of what fire-eaters tasted in the fiery meals.

"Here," he said, grabbing the ice bucket when it came springing out again and handling it to Gerald, "Give that to Josh to cool his taste buds." Then reaching over, he caught both her hands and forced them down to her sides, ignoring the intense, murderous glare she gave him, and matched her eye for eye.

"What? Is it? You seek?" He enunciated with firmness and emphasis that would make any servant of his sit up and give him full attention.

"Panadol," she relented after a moment's silence in which she filled it with glaring and pouting like a normal lower class brat.

"What is that?"

"Pain-reliever," now it was her turn to look perplex.

"Ahhh . . . Aspirin," he correct and signaled his men to bring out the first aid kit. Then he watched with amusement as she snatched the tablets out of his hands without a word of 'so much by your leave', and popped them both into her mouth. It didn't take long for her eyes to water from the bitterness of the tablets and for her to actively start searching the buttons once again.

Suppressing the urge to laugh, he reached over and pressed a button on the side of the door, waiting for the compartment housing the glasses to open. Once the glass was in his hand, he twisted the tiny knob on the mini fridge located underneath the central table and filled it up with water.

Then he waited as her hands reached out to take the glass of water he held, and with a deliberate gesture, as if he was going to hand her the water, moved the glass swiftly to his lips and took a delicate sip.

It was the first time he ever saw a person's expression change from utter gratefulness to confusion and finally utter frustration in one spilt second. Even the color of her face changed from off-white to crimson red.

'Get your own,' he mouthed at her and took another sip, ignoring the howls of approvals coming from his men. Then he hid his mirth behind his glass when she turned her back on him with a huff to get her glass of water.

_An hour later . . ._

'_I will murder him, strip him of his flesh, fry his meat and feed it to the dogs!' _Jess thought as she pushed against the weight of the man leaning on her so casually as he napped.

Looking around, she noticed none of the men were bothered that their leader was putting his whole weight on a puny girl nor that she desperately needed assistance. In fact, from their expressions, they were enjoying this little dilemma she was facing as one would enjoy watching a show. There was laughter in their eyes and small smiles etched on their lips. Something Jess would like to wipe off their faces with Wufei's current choice of weaponry: the saucepan.

'_Come on . . . Move you big lump of flesh,'_ she incited in her mind, willing all her muscles to accomplish this tumultuous task. Since she didn't compromise her dignity to the G-boys back then, she sure wasn't gonna compromise it to the kidnapper either.

Gritting her teeth and digging her feet into the floor of the limousine, she gave a final mighty shove, tilting the snoozing bozo over to the other side. Her triumph only lasted a second or two before he dropped a hand around her shoulders and dragged her down together with him. Much to the delight of his men for they broke out in riotous laughter. Meanwhile, all the activities didn't so much as provoke a flicker of the eyelids.

"Quit pretending to sleep," she concluded darkly, her fingers darting out to give the offending arm a quick pinch.

"Ow. How did you guess?"

Sitting up and straightening her outfit, Jess answered as nonchalantly as she could: "Simple. Anyone who can't feel me shove the way I did is either dead or paralyzed. Secondly, only the deaf and comatose can sleep through the noise your subordinates are making."

"Excellent deduction my lady," Treize returned with a rueful smile before sitting up.

"I'm not your lady."

"Fine. My ingrate prisoner. My ill-tempered woman. My arrogant and ignorant little fool. My . . ."

"Keep that up and I'll find ways to pull all your teeth out before old age," Jess snapped, feeling her patience at it's end.

"I believe that you didn't want me to call you a lady. I was being helpful by suggesting all the personalities that seem so agreeable with you."

"I never said I don't like being called a lady. I just don't like you calling me YOUR lady. I am not some possession, I am . . ."

"A free person. An individual of superior intellect. Homo sapiens with the freedom of making one's own decision," Treize cut in, finishing her sentence for her. "Yes, I have heard all these before. Trust me, offer money and they are willing to throw away that precious freedom they boost of."

"Let me guess, your superiors taught you all these?"

"Of course not. Experience is the key here."

"Then obviously you are NOT speaking to the right people then."

Cocking an eyebrow at her, he returned: "Obviously you haven't suffered a life of poverty."

"I think that sentence is more appropriate for you, since you mocked that money can make a person give up their self-worth."

"I am afraid that what I speak is the utter truth. Hard core facts. After all, I respect a man who understands the ultimate good rather than his own selfish wants." The young man coolly retorted, adjusting the gloves on his hands. "There are many things you seem ignorant of that could make a grown man willing give up his pride for money. And such decisions behind their actions should be pitied or applauded, if not respected, don't you think?"

"Why don't you name me a few? Poverty is one but there are some who would rather die than give up their pride. Name me one that I can't rebutt."

"Fine. How about 'Family'? Or maybe the uneducated and unskilled, trying to do an honest day's work for a day's wage? Come, let me hear you debate on how those reasons aren't good enough for a man to give up his freedom to work for a government, especially a government that has been established for so many decades."

"Well . . . Um . . ."

"And since we are on the subject, is it so dreadful that a person should fight for his country? Is it not another form of self-worth by fighting and dying honorably to protect your homeland?"

"Ah . . . , when you put it like that . . ."

Leaning over until his lean frame towered over her, he continued: "And you do realize you have insinuated that every man's character here is sadly lacking in self-worth. Perhaps you like to spend some time alone with them to learn what they are like? Or perhaps you like to hear their side of the story. Come, tell me, which is it you like to do?"

"None?" Jess almost squeaked out her answer, trying her best not to feel intimidated. Already, the looks she was getting from the men were turning hostile. Making her uncomfortably aware she herself wasn't exactly free, let alone qualified to tell him off.

Raising both eyesbrows in mock shock, he questioned: "Chickening out now?"

"Of . . . Of course not! Just . . . Just give me time to think!" Jess blurted out, trying her best to hide her growing fear, which was useless since her body reacted by cowering against the door to put as much distance between the two of them as possible.

"Fine," he relented before straightening up. "Give me an answer by the end of this charade."

* * *

"Yeah? What do you want?" Wufei's annoyed voice spoke on the other end of the line, igniting a small spark of irritation in Heero as well.

"Where's Quatre?"

"He's out front with David, waiting for guests to arrive."

"Why aren't you with him?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm hiding from that delusional, egotistical, self-proclaimed fiancée of mine."

"Get your butt out there and do the same."

"What for? You can't go around bossing me always, Yuy."

Tapping the pay phone with impatience, Heero took a deep breath before continuing: "Jess is coming."

"So? We know that already."

Closing his eyes and praying for patience, Heero grinded out: "He'll be finishing her off either at the entrance or as soon as he gets first chance."

"What? No faith in our blond-haired, blue-eyed friend?"

Smiling grimly, Heero answered: "Actually, too much faith. We need to test her."

"On what? It's obvious she deflected."

"What if she didn't? Then we'll be misjudging someone who is innocent."

"Hey! It was you guys that gave us the idea that she changed sides in the first place. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Look, time is running out. We'll explain it when we get back. I don't know what kind of trap Quatre set up but it'll be deadly."

"You can bet on that. But I'm not moving from this spot till I hear one good reason. I don't want to . . ." and Wufei left sentence unfinished, unable to complete it thanks to a growing lump in his throat. He knew Duo had also excused himself from the plot by complaining about a tummy ache, when in truth, he wanted be far away from the scene when the girl died.

"She saved us."

"What?"

"She saved us from The Federation's detection." with that, the phone went dead.

For a moment, Wufei stared into space, unable to believe his ears. Then his body jumped into action.

"Darn it, Yuy! Couldn't you have called earlier?" Wufei cursed under his breath and battled his way out of the closet he had chosen as his hiding place. "Shoot! Quatre placed bombs at the driveway to blow up the whole car!"

And somewhere at the entrance of the gate, the visitors started to pull in one by one.


	82. Reunion

**Chapter 82**

Twenty minutes of receiving guests and Quatre was ready to throw in the towel, regardless of the mission he had set out to accomplish. Not that he couldn't take smiling and greeting the arrivals cordially, it was his fiancée's roaming hands that made his own hands itch to deal the insolent fool a couple of blows. Preferably breaking a few bones in process.

"Welcome. Please make yourself comfortable," he greeted an elderly couple, one of the aristocrat families in-charge of planet L1, hoping that the strain on his smile didn't show when the wayward hand moved from his waist to his butt for the umpteen time. He also noted that the culprit didn't even have the decency to look abash for what he was doing so blatantly.

Half tempted to send his fiancée down the driveway and blowing him away, he motioned one of the maids over and pointed at the nearest vase, indicating that he would like her to fetch him the roses. Once the order was fulfilled, he transferred them from the maid's hand to errant boy's hands and answered before the question was spoken: "Be sure to give every charming lady a rose."

However, for all his tact, those roses were promptly placed back into his arms with a confident reply: "A pity none is as charming as you."

"Flattered, really," he returned coolly before forcing them into boy's hands again, "but those roses simply must be given to every lady that comes through the door."

"If I came through the door, would that count?"

"No. Welcome to the Otheallo's residence. Please, make yourself comfortable," Quatre greeted the next guests, pasting a sugary smile on his lips as society would deem acceptable. Noting at the same time that a limousine, bearing The Federation crest, was pulling in at the entrance of the driveway.

* * *

Jess felt her heart skip a beat when she recognized the familiar family crest of the Otheallos. Her glimpse of the specially minted coin (before it disappeared into Duo's pocket) may have been brief but the image was unique enough to burn into her mind. 

Meanwhile, Treize resisted the beginnings of a smile as he watched the girl perk up at the sight of the mansion. No doubt she was already imagining her reunion with her so-called "sister" and "girl friends". Something Treize was looking forward too, but for different reasons of his own.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he suddenly whispered in her ear, startling her. "Someone you know?"

Coughing to cover up her embarrassment, Jess answered: "If you mean famous and comes from where I used to study, then yes, I know him."

"Then I guess it will be futile for introductions."

"Oh yes. Perhaps we could go through the back door?" On hearing that suggestion, Treize frowned. The expression on the girl's face was definitely hopeful. Eager to be exact.

Folding his arms across his chest, he gave the girl the once over. "Perhaps you could pass as the scullery maid, but I do not think me and my men can, especially since we are alighting from this very car which announces my status on sight."

Biting back the sarcasms that threatened to spill forth from her lips, Jess asked: "Then may _I_** please **go through the back door?"

Giving her one of his lazy smile, Treize leaned forward till she could lean back no further. Then planting a hand on either side of her, he answered: "No. Now please alight from the car." Giving her only a moment's grace before opening the car door and dropping the only support away from her back.

* * *

At first, Quatre thought he had blown himself up together with the car to kingdom come. After all, he had just taken out the trigger, which he wired out of the television remote, when something hit him in the side at full force, throwing him off his feet and plunging him down the flight of stairs to the asphalt below. 

It was only after he starting grappling with the shadow that came with the force, that he realized it was Wufei who had tackled him to the ground. One part of him wanted to lose given that he was uneasy about doing away a comrade he knew. But the other part of him spurred him on to fight, urging him that the greater good was the best reason for his current action.

"Stop it, Wufei," he hissed between teeth at the slender Chinese who was now trying to pry loose the remote from his fingers. "I have great admiration for your second thoughts but if we don't end this now, the chances of eliminating someone like Treize will be much lesser."

"You're gonna blow her up."

"I believe that is the **main **plan!" Quatre gritted out, feeling the last of his patience sizzle out.

"Well, he said we don't do it yet!" Wufei returned with equal zest, doing his best to wrestle the remote out from under the petite Arab and his many layers of lace and cloth, which he had taken to hiding beneath his body.

"Who?"

"Heero!"

It was then that they became aware that a set of wheels had rolled up and came to a halt. The click of the door was the only warning they got before they found themselves looking into a familiar pair of dark brown eyes, which stared back at them with the same surprise they felt.

"Hi." Jess greeted simply.

* * *

One minute the door was firmly against her back, the next minute, it had fallen away, leaving empty space which she fell helplessly through to hit the ground below. But that wasn't the worst of it. 

For a heartbeat, time seemed to stop.

Two pairs of eyes, one black and the other blue, stared back at her, mouths agape and expressions disbelieving. Sure, it's not everyday one gets to see someone tumbling down from a car backwards. Least of all, someone you _actually_ know and possibly have no expectation of meeting again.

Feeling her cheeks flamed at the thought of her undignified entrance, Jess quickly greeted them and sat up. Wrestling her skirts down over her ankles and desperately praying that Treize didn't see anything personal. The next instance happened so fast, her wits didn't have time to catch up and form a connection of how she should react.

One minute she was on the ground, the next minute she was hauled up by her waist to her feet by the gentleman alighting from the car. Likewise, the other two "girls" were treated in similar fashions by their respective partners.

"I apologize for their display of such behavior," she heard the two younger men said as they bowed slightly in respect to the person standing at her side contentedly with his hand still on her waist. Some thought echoed at the back of her mind that she should do something about that hand.

"They must have gotten out of the wrong side of bed," she heard him return amicably and considered pinching the offending hand. She also noticed Wufei glaring deadly at it while furrows knitted themselves into Quatre's brow.

"Perhaps. It is an honor to have you here today, Sir. May I ask who is your lovely com . . ." And at that, the sentence trailed off. Now the two boys had joined in staring at her. How wonderful.

"Jess?" she heard her "sister's" boyfriend stammer out.

Before she could answer, it seemed Treize decided to act as her voice as well.

"What an excellent guess. That is indeed her nickname. May I properly present to you: Jesslyn Lee Wei Lin, last surviving _princess _of Singapore."

"WHAT?!?!" four voices chorus in unison.

"Ww. . ." Jess barely had the chance to form the word before she felt the hand on her waist increased its pressure on a certain point between two fingers and remained like that. Ah . . . the irony of it all. He was pinching her when it was her right to pinch him for impertinence.

Then Wufei burst into a sardonic laugh. One that spoke volumes of what he thought of her current lineage. Meanwhile, Quatre seemed to enter into a state similar to cardiac arrest while the two boys looked on with disillusionment.

"Ah . . . Right." Karl ventured, unsure how to speak after that shocking news. Somehow, he was pretty sure she was his fiancee's sister but then Wuling had been pretty firm that she had decided to return home without her. "This way to your room, _princess_."

* * *

"Princess? PRINCESS? Of Singapore?! What happened to those imaginative skills you displayed on the shuttle?" Jess ranted at her so-called companion once the door was closed and she was sure the others were out of earshot. "As proud as I am of my country, I believe I can be put away for such nonsense!" 

"Technically, we can view it that way since Singapore ended a long time ago." came the calm answer. If anything, Jess was beginning to believe Treize was secretly enjoying their little debates. "You are the last genuine citizen surviving when as of this date it should be impossible."

"You still don't get it, do you? Gosh! Did you see the looks on their faces?"

"Yes. What about it?"

Noticing that the peculiar gleam was back in his eyes, Jess threw her hands up in resignation and collapsed on the bed face down. Wishing hard that the ground would spilt and swallow her up. Taking her away from this horrible situation that the young man had unwittingly bestowed on her.

It was after a moment of peace that she felt the bed tilt and sink to one side. No doubt from the weight of the only other human in the room. A warm hand then rested on top of her head and patted her lightly, as if comforting her.

"Get your hand off me," she demanded into the bed, refusing to look at him. The hand stopped patting but remained fixed to her crown, the arm lying casually across her neck to her shoulder blades. Jess mentally counted to ten, hoping to cool her anger before turning her head to match him eye-for-eye, brain-against-brain.

The peaceful sleeping face of Treize Khushrenada greeted her on sight. An angelic expression if Jess ever saw one, something that shouldn't suit a veteran of war but strangely it did.

Turning her head back into the mattress, Jess cursed her fate.


	83. Head Honchos

**Chapter 83**

Out of boredom, Jess poked the jelly set in front of her and watched it wobble. Strolling around her were the guests of upper society; soliciting around and enjoying the late evening sun as they waited for dinner on the perfectly manicured, lush-green lawn of the house's inner courtyard.

Well-pruned hedges bordered the perimeters as summer flowers bloomed beautifully in sight, in the carefully sculptured gardens. Adding to the glamour, a tent made of fine white cloth, fastened to intricately carved poles, adorned with lights and flowing white ribbons, made a sort of shelter against any unpredicted weather as well as allowing the guest to enjoy the cool night air seeping in as day fell to its slumber.

All this would have been wonderfully exciting if she wasn't forced to seat within a group of aging men, discounting Treize of course, choosing to talk of all things: politics. Oh, and the occasional strategies in making the rebels surrender. Currently, they were engaged in debating who had the best idea in eliminating the nuisances.

"I have been thinking," the one called Albert the first stated, "the proper way to flush those irritating mice would be bait. Perhaps an information leak with misleading clues. Of course, in the beginning the clues have to be real in order to gain their trust. Then when they least expect it . . . Bam! We drop the trap on them."

"What an utter waste of resources," A potty man with a mustache disagreed, drawing a puff from his cigar before counteracting, "The best way is simply to capture one of their men, torture him until he cooperates and then extract whatever information you can out of him." On hearing that, Jess shuddered and recalled the cold, unrelenting eyes of Lady Une on their first meeting. No doubt, she would agree with this man now more than ever, especially since she was the one with Treize instead of her at this little "party".

"I must say that is rather devious and effective, however, what honor is there?" Treize questioned before lifting his glass off the table. "I think the best way is to rally our men's spirit, get them in the mood, then meet those rebels on the battlefield and demonstrate The Federation's might and power."

"And what? Give them an excellent chance in winning?" this time, the eldest of the group rebutted with a sadist smirk on his lips, leaning forward on his walking stick. "Ah, the folly of youth. The best and most cost-effective way is to plant a few spies and ensure we get their plans while they work at sowing discord amongst the members. After all, a rebellion is a failure from the start if there is no strong bonding between men or there are divided goals that clash with their ultimate goal."

Seeing the slight distaste on Treize's face, he elaborated while dropping a heavy fist on the table to emphasize his point: "Distrust. Fear. Betrayal. Discord. The perfect cover to weaken their forces and give us ample chances to capture their leader. Putting an end to this nonsense by killing him in front of their eyes to break their spirit. Now surely every one of you have to agree that mine is simply the best method."

"Or maybe the problem doesn't lie with them but with you," Jess muttered under her breath before grabbing her glass of grape juice from the table to take a drink. However, as soft as her comment was, apparently, every one of the men had somehow heard it. All heads swerved in her direction to fixate eyes on her.

"What was that you said, young one?" the eldest questioned, his eyes narrowing at her in suspicion.

"Alright, that is enough liquor for you," Treize quickly butted in, taking the glass out of her hands and earning a frown from her. "Gentlemen, I'm afraid the alcohol has gotten into her head. Please ignore her."

"No, she said something quite interesting and I'm really curious as to what she is thinking."

"Sir Winford, the opinion of a lady, and not to mention the cognitive process she had to use to come to such a conclusion, is insignificant; with regards to the fact that she has little or no knowledge about the current world affairs as it is. She has been sheltered all her life like a frog in a well, so naturally she would think us crude and abusive of our own powers."

"What?" Jess uttered, looking perplexed at her captor.

Meanwhile, the eldest chuckled before replying: "That would stand for an ordinary lady but this . . ." and he allowed a silence to pass to place heavy emphasis on Jess, who felt an uneasy sensation of shrinking in her chair, "This child is the _PRINCESS_ of Singapore. The last true inhabitant of the country, is she not?"

On hearing her "title", Jess cringed inwardly. Secretly glad that at the current moment, she was _truly_ the last surviving citizen of the country. She also noticed Treize wincing at the choice of words, no doubt regretting his selection of the role she had to play.

"Yes, well . . ." he started, trying to buy time to think while flustered at this sudden turn of events. He was cut short by the old man firmly thumping the walking stick on the ground.

"I want to hear her opinion, nothing more. Speak child." Around them, three other heads nodded with grim seriousness.

"Now would be a good time to do what you're good at," Treize hinted out of the corner of his mouth as he sank into his chair.

Jess pondered a moment on his words and decided he was right. What better time then to voice her thoughts.

Pasting a bright smile on her face, she began: "Not that I think your ideals are ineffective in flushing out those rebels, I just thought maybe the real problem doesn't lie there but rather, the root might actually be with us."

At that, she felt Treize drop his hand over hers and apply pressure. Sneaking a look, she saw he had on this huge, happy smile on his face but by the vise-like grip he held her hand in, he was definitely far from happy.

"How fascinating. Care to expound?" Winford requested with a gleam in his eyes.

The grip tightened to a clamp.

"Can I pass?" she asked hopefully.

"Surely you do not wish to make us old men crack their heads to understand your point. After all, the energy supply that is youth is very much limited in our current condition as you can see," the elder stated and wiggled his white eyebrows at her in a harmless way.

"Ahh . . .," Jess hesitated, trying to at least wiggle her fingers in the grip. To her horror, she realized they had gone numb.

"Are you going let your stubbornness make us suffer?"

If Jess could, she would had rolled her eyes at the irony of the situation. _'Can't get any worse than this," _she decided, _'This party won't end till tomorrow. Better get in touch with the gang after this.'_

Taking a deep breath and steeling herself for excruciating pain that would come from a certain point, she answered: "Have you ever wondered in the first place why there are rebels? If a country is truly well managed and prosperous, I sincerely believe that such problems do not surface. Look at the history of China, Europe and Southeast Asia, the rise and falls of Monarchies. Why do they fall? What makes a good county system? No doubt, if a country does not have the characteristics of corruption, tyranny and lawlessness, I doubt people will feel the need to rebel, much less support the cause of rebellion."

"Here now! That is utter nonsense!" Albert the first retaliated, standing up to tower over her as he did so. "We have proper laws to ensure order is in place and corruption is at bay. No one rules The Federation alone if you must know!"

"Then how about revising those laws and see if they _support_ corruption? When I said lawlessness, it doesn't mean no laws are in place. It could be laws that bullies the people into submission and actually intrudes upon their livelihood. If the laws in place only benefit those in The Federation, then the system is not doing a job of ruling but rather placing an insufferable burden on the people. A good King's worth is measured by his country's prosperity and his peoples' happiness. The same goes for a country's system and the people behind the system."

"Are you implying that our system is disruptive, overbearing and corrupt? If you must know, we place great emphasis on order to prevent the unthinkable from happening!"

"There is a fine line between order and tyranny. The difference is the principals they operate on. A good system is one that serves the country, the people and not the ones at the top. As a king must place the peoples' interests before himself, so must those at the very top that legislates and govern the country. It is a system that is a two-way street rather than a self-rewarding career."

"So you actually believe our current system is at fault?" the eldest spoke, his voice dropping to a soft, threatening whisper. Jess could feel the men at the table tensing but she was far too angry to take heed of that little warning.

"Considering the amount of effort you put in just to weed out the rebels, I say yes!" she answered defiantly, putting her nose up in the air. She was vaguely aware that the courtyard had grown silent and night had crept up, throwing open its dark cloak to reveal the twinkling stars sprayed magnificently across.

For a moment, the old man looked at her with eyes that were cold and disdainful. But then, he threw his head back and laughed, the lightness belying the extent of his anger.

"Yes child, I'm beginning to see where your drive is coming from. Are you upset that your country got annihilated? Don't lie to me. I know you have knowledge of the true motive behind the "accident", yes?"

"If you must know, what I said have nothing to do with the past," Jess sourly returned, wondering how the old geezer managed to connect something so distinctively remote to her reasoning. She was beginning to suspect that all the men at the table had air in place of their brains. "I'm quoting what my history teacher taught me in school."

"And pray, what is this wonderful teacher's name?"

At that, Jess decided to shut up. She wasn't sure how many people had the name "Harry Tain Hoon" but she wasn't about to help initiate the next mass murder of people who coincidently bore the same name as him. Especially considering that the year was 2050 and her teacher technically should have been eliminated with everything else.

Surprisingly, Treize decided to play hero at that moment. He got up from his seat, pulling her along with him, and stated: "My deepest apologies. She had a long and eventful flight to here and I am afraid the alcohol had muddled up her brain somewhat. If you all be so kind, I would like to see her to her room."

"Preferably under lock and key too, don't you think?" the pot-belly man insinuated, looking at Treize from over his glass with a smug expression.

Instead of looking intimidated by the obviously higher ranked officer, Treize shrugged and answered calmly: "I think it is my right to decide how I deal with her. Goodnight gentleman." With that, he saluted and walked off with her in tow, ignoring stares from the others present.

* * *

Duo gave a low whistle as he watched the pair trot across the greenery. It wasn't something they got to see every day and it was actually pretty . . . educating. 

"I don't know what she's done to him," he leaned a bit to the side to whisper to Heero, who looked pretty uncomfortable in the dress they had forced him to wear, "But I like the _change_."

"Hn." As always, Heero was uncommunicative as ever. His attention taken up by the forming wedge that his outfit was beginning to develop. Some part of his brain noted that being female wasn't much fun in upper society and decided he would give Relena the freedom he enjoyed at first chance he got.

"I don't like it," Wufei mumbled under his breath, narrowing his eyes at the couple disappearing into the house. "Sounds like she's on their side."

"I'll say, sounds a lot like what Quarisa would say to those people if she's given the key to unchain those society limitations on her birthright. Speaking of which, where's Qua?" All eyes turned towards Trowa in question and he jerked a thumb in the direction of the house.

". . .Unwell. . ."

"Food poisoning?"

"_Suitor_ poisoning."

"Ah . . ."

* * *

"What were you thinking?!" Treize raved at her the moment they were in the room and the door was locked. "Do you have any idea who those men were?" 

"Number one: I was doing what you asked me to do best. Arguing! Number Two: No, I don't know who those men were but if you enlighten me, I will!"

"Arguing?! I asked you to do what you were good at. And you do best at _fainting!_ The part where your whole body collapses because of the lack of air, possibly in the cranium area! Not that you haven't demonstrated the _opposite_ extremely well by picking a debate with one of the top men in The Federation."

"Thank you for the compliment," Jess returned in an equally sarcastic tone, folding her arms and watching Treize pace in front of her. "Glad to know I was able to fulfill my part in **some** way."

Coming to a stop in front of her, Treize gave her a hard look. One that said he wasn't pleased with her answer. Jess shrugged her shoulders and looked away, feeling a bit guilty she placed him in such an uncomfortable position.

That is until he added: "We will just have to say you forgot to take your medicine."

Letting out a huff in indignation, Jess turned on her feet and marched stiffly into the next room, slamming the door behind her. So much for feeling pity for someone who didn't deserve it.


	84. Reunion Misfortune

_AN: I am so sorry re-posting this chapter. I just realized, before I went to work, that Quatre didn't attend the whole dinner reception held earlier that day. (This shows how long I haven't updated, hence making that little crucial mistake.) So here is the corrected version. My most sincere apologies to those who reviewed. I'm really touched by your sincerity in following up with my fic, which takes so long to be updated. _

_You people really make my day. _

**Chapter 84**

Creak . . .

Jess glared hard at the culprit as the pipe tilted further outwards, levering her out over the rosebushes planted two storeys beneath her. So much for plan A, now she was trapped with two options: either drop or scream. Funny thing was: her mind was preoccupied with Duo's words of how she needed to lose weight instead of panicking about what was awaiting her.

"I weigh a normal 48kg," she grumbled to herself, wondering whether to try her luck to move closer to the now so distant wall , or call for help, which would inevitably alert Treize to her pitiful attempt at escape. The pipe groaned again and tilted out further. It was then that Jess decided she would debate on that little truth later when she was on safe and solid ground.

Moving one hand down the pipe, closer to the wall, she transferred a bit of her weight and waited with bated breath for the consequences. The pipe moaned a little but kept it's current position. Taking it as a good sign, Jess transferred the rest of her body weight to it and shifted her body down the pipe. Bad move for the pipe finally let out a long, ominous groan, burst another binder, and levered out 90 degrees away from the wall.

"Great! Just great!" Jess cursed under her breath as her feet, that had been hooked around the pipe, lost their grip; giving her a taste of what it felt like to be wet laundry, left out to dry in the sun on a bamboo pole in her HDB block.

Looking at the rosebushes again, Jess contemplated that maybe it wasn't so bad landing in them. After all, she would be badly scratched and possibly in great pain, but nothing would be broken, right?

A low emitted growl caught her attention and she found herself looking down at two, big, black Labradors with yellow eyes, looking back up at her with greedy expression beside the rosebushes.

'_This just gets better and better,'_ she concluded with a touch of bitterness, accumulated over the months of disappointment and the fact that nothing had gone right her way since the day she stumbled into the world.

Sucking in her breath, she got ready to scream for help.

* * *

Startled, Heero looked towards the window, ignoring the discussion the group were having. 

"What is it?" Duo asked, noticing Heero's sudden focus on the curtained window. All he received in answer was a distracted cue from Heero to keep quiet. That motion also got the attention of the other pilots.

As one, they crept forward, Heero drawing out his gun from underneath his shirt while Trowa extracted his knives from the insides of his coat. Meanwhile, Duo and Quatre took positions on either sides of the window and got a firm grip on the curtain, ready to yak the obstacle out of the way for the two anticipating soldiers.

Then a nod from Heero signaled the start of action. With a firm tug, both curtains were simultaneously drawn, clearing the way for the boys to aim and fire away their weapons at the possible spy. The gun clicked back while Trowa raised his arm, ready to throw. However, the actions were never followed through.

Frowning at the sudden freeze on the boys' actions and expressions, Duo and Quatre peeked out into the night. They were rewarded with the sight of the girl, staring back white-faced at them, with eyes bulging out with shock and her mouth dropped open to reveal two sets of teeth; as she hanged precariously from a toilet pipe, stretched out over the lawn of a two-storey height.

For a moment, this little contest continued, neither party doing anything else other than staring at each other.

Finally, the moment was broken when the girl did something familiar. Her eyes rolled back into their sockets while the strength left her fingers.

"_Freaking S--t!_" Duo exclaimed, as Heero made a dive out the window for the plunging body. Following suit, the rest of the boys made a dive for Heero's legs.

* * *

". . ." 

"Look! I said I was sorry," Duo defended himself in the face of a seriously angered Heero. "But with you pulling me over the sill in one way and the rest pulling me back the other way, which I would like to point out, on my STOMACH, something has got to come out."

"Hn."

"Oh come on. You're a guy. Stop sulking already. Look at Jess, she's not complaining."

"She's neither awake."

"So?"

"Why don't you let me throw vomit all over you while you hang upside down, and later tell me you don't mind?"

"What's the use in that?"

"It'll make me happy."

"You've been hanging around Wu-chan too much. His vengeance streak is rubbing off on you."

"I take that as an insult, American. Continue on this path and you will find that you have more to contend with than just Heero," this time the Chinese continued where the Japanese boy left off.

Sticking out his tongue at the both of them, Duo stuck out both his legs and leaned back against the wall. His eyes roamed around the room to avoid looking upon the annoyed faces of his co-pilots, and came to rest on the serene look of the girl. At least it was serene now. Despite Quatre desperate actions to clean the girl, there were certain priorities that a guy didn't take advantage off, no matter the circumstances. No doubt she would be pretty unhappy once she caught a whiff of his supper.

Which reminded him suddenly of the broken toilet pipe. Come morning, there would be trouble, both for the owners and the guests living on the upper floors. Not to mention a hellva mess to clean up before more people were rudely awaken by such an unpleasant odour. Sniggering with apparent glee and anticipation from being the natural born prankster that he was, Duo decided he would bunk in with Wufei tonight and send the chauffer packing for the night instead.

"We need to change her clothes or she might fall ill. It is just terrible that we have no female assistance at the moment," Quatre lamented, dropping the last of the soiled tissues into the almost full brimming waste basket.

"I'll do it!" Duo chirped, getting up with enthusiasm.

"GET OUT OF THE ROOM!" the rest of the pilots, except Trowa who had entered the bathroom to clear out the waste basket, bellowed with obvious outrage.

"Chill . . . I was just joking. Besides, if we dump her in the bathroom with a fresh change of clothes, she'll get the idea sooner or later when she wakes up."

"But we need to change her _now_."

"Then you do it, Qua. What with your 29 sisters, what is one more girl to you?" Duo nominated, feeling a snide satisfaction when Quatre's face flamed to a bright red and he splattered in trying to find the right words to rebut such a ludicrous suggestion.

Meanwhile, Wufei frowned as he searched his memory for a familiar face he saw amongst the guests.

"Say . . . Isn't there someone you do know here today?" he ventured and found the blond staring daggers at him. The kind that made his spring-blue eyes darken to a summer kind of blue, the kind that indicated a storm was approaching.

"I have no idea what you're saying," the Arab politely returned after a period of uncomfortable silence, laying the girl gently down on the bed. However his eyes never left the Chinese.

"Sure there is. . . Blond hair . . ." Wife hinted, a small trace of a smile on his lips.

"Plenty of blond ladies arrived today."

"Blue eyes . . ."

"Blue eyes are not uncommon."

"Fair skin like yours . . ."

"I believe that is the minimum criteria among the rich and famous here," Quatre coolly replied, straightening up before marching stiffly for the door.

"And goes by the name of Iria **Winner**." That statement brought the blond to a complete stop in front of the door.

"Now that you mention it, there was someone who looked a lot like Qua and kept asking about him throughout party. . ." Duo carried on the conversation.

". . . Hn . . ."

". . ."

"Enough! You shall not drag my family into the picture like this," Quatre hissed at them, turning on his heel and facing them in a terrible fury, his blue eyes flashing brilliantly amidst his golden tresses that spread out in a golden blanket.

"What are you so afraid of?" the brunette questioned, baffled by this extreme reaction from the usually gentle and mild blond.

"He doesn't want me to see how lovely a female he makes," a voice answered from behind the door and the door flew open, revealing an older, more matured vision of Quatre as the gentler gender. "Hello younger brother," she whispered, looking down on the shorter blond with a tender expression.

At which, she was rewarded with a petrified look from Quatre as he turned his head rather robotically around to face his worst horror becoming reality. "Uh . . . Bla . . . Iria . . ."

"Are you not going to invite me in?" his sister asked and without waiting for a reply, came in and closed the door firmly behind her. Then striding to the middle of the room, she continued: "I heard my name being mentioned. How can I be of assistance?"

Immediately, all fore fingers shot out to point in the direction of the bed. Approaching it, Iria realized that the slight pungent smell was emitting from the still figure and wrinkled her nose in mild disgust.

"I see . . . The change of clothes?"

At that, the fingers changed direction to the toilet. With set determination in her jaw, she lifted the petite girl up and strode to bathroom, looking as if this was a normal situation that occurred to her everyday.

"Wow. . . She seems really nice," Duo commented and looked over at Quatre. The rest of the words stuck in his throat for the blond was advancing on them, his fingers forming claws and his eyes glittering with malicious intent as a mad-like smile graced his lips.

'_Uh oh . . .'_

* * *

In the bathroom, Iria ignored the terrified screams of the "girls" as she changed the Chinese girl out of her dirty clothes, taking a moment to clean off the dirt from the body with a wet towel. 

"You are one lucky girl, you know that?" she asked the knocked-out girl and smiled at the expected non-response. "I have never heard of a female piloting one of those metal giants. You must be the first."

Then picking up an arm, she compared it against her own and smiled. "You must be a working class, your skin neither fair nor smooth. A bit on the hairy side, so I am guessing no genetic modification too," she mused, looking interested in this specimen. "Possibly a natural birth?"

A small sneeze from the girl took her out of her musings and she quickly slipped the provided nightgown over the girl. Then guiding the half asleep charge over to the dresser, she sat her down and started brushing her hair.

"Who are you?" came a sleepy question from the girl as she peered tiredly at her through the mirror.

"A friend," she answered and smiled her most angelic smile at her.

"Oh, I see." With that, looking to be satisfied with her reply, the child went back to sleep, her head gently nodding forward as she sank into bliss. Putting the matching ribbon between her lips, Iria proceeded to braid the girl's hair into a pigtail, pausing now and then to admire her handiwork. Once done, she carried the child out the door only to pause at the scene before her.

Armed men were aiming their guns at her brother and his friends.


	85. Meet the family!

_AN: I went to Korea during the last week and came back with a flu. I wrote this chapter while on medication. Hope the zany stuff comes out minimal. . . But then again, nothing's wrong with a barrel of laughs. Hope you guys enjoy it, especially Silver Kitsune no Tenshi who has shown me a lot of support with her emails._

**Chapter 85**

"Here now, what is the meaning of this?" Iria demanded on seeing her beloved brother held at gun point. Unconsciously, her fingers tightened their grip on the girl, stirring her from sleep to wakefulness.

Not expecting this sudden intrusion, all guns which had been trained on the boys, swiftly changed direction to focus on the two females.

Just when Jess got both her eyes opened.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" the Chinese girl screamed on seeing so many gun barrels aiming at her, struggling in the supportive arms and making Iria lose her balance. Both girls went stumbling back into the bathroom in a tangle of arms and legs, scattering items here and there and making a whole lot of noise generally. Furthermore, her scream unnerved a guard and his hand slipped, dropping the gun, which went off and its bullet rocketed off the ceiling and two walls before embedding itself into the windowsill, narrowly missing Heero by inches.

Thanks to the commotion they were making, one by one, the occupants were awaken. First to reach the scene was Ronald, who upon entry, was brought up short by a gun held by a soldier nearest to the door.

Before the brunette could voice his question as to why his intended and her friends were held at gunpoint, David arrived with a war cry: "My Lady, I'm here to rescue you!" Much to the utter mortification of a certain blond, who kept his eyes averted from the interested look a similar blond was giving him from the doorway of a bathroom.

However, as gallant as the entry was, that too was squashed by a gun pointing right between the eyes.

"Um . . . What is going on?" David whispered to his buddy from the corner of his mouth as he raised both hands up in the air in surrender. His friend shrugged his shoulders in reply.

Treize, on the other hand, stood in the middle of his soldiers, messaging his temples. Things weren't going according to what he had planned and now, they were about to go horribly wrong with just a misstep. Taking a deep breath, the redhead started to count.

". . . 3 . . ."

"What is he doing?" David asked again, curiosity aroused by this unusual action displayed by their senior.

". . . 2 . . ."

"I have no idea," his friend replied, eyeing the guy warily.

". . . 1 . . . Guns down!" came the absolute order at the end of the count and all the soldiers let their hands drop to their sides; just as the rest of the household came swarming in with the Otheallo family in the lead.

"What happened?" Lance Otheallo demanded in a booming voice, marching smartly into the room, wearing a maroon bathrobe over a pair of white silk pajamas. His wife appeared at his side a second later, frowning as she took in the scene.

"My deepest apologies for rudely awaking you, sir . . ." Treize began but he was cut off by a joyful cry that erupted from the side of the lady, followed by a blur of shadow that became solid in front of Wufei.

"My Darling!" Brownish-red haired youth gushed, as he embraced the Chinese "girl". "What a relief you are unharmed."

Meanwhile, it took all of Wufei willpower to restrain his inner urge to beat the bloody idiot to a pulp. Instead, he kept his arms to his sides and his hands tightly fisted, chanting in his mind:_ 'Ticket to freedom, ticket to freedom, ticket to freedom . . .'_ while the other boys looked on, praying fervently that Wufei would be able to find the tolerance to hold out until the situation blew over.

"Disperse with the formalities. I want to know what happened just now," Lance took up the conversation where he left it, giving Treize the look that if he found his answer unsatisfactory, there was going to be a whole lot of trouble for the young gentleman when the party was over.

"I have every belief that my companion was kidnapped by one of them."

"Why?"

"These people are not what they seem. They may look like girls, sound like girls but I assure you that they are far from girls. In fact, quite the opposite gender if you allow me to prove it."

"I take that as a great insult, Khushrenada," Iria decided that moment to speak up from the bathroom, much to Treize irritation.

"Not you, Winner."

"Well! When you said girls, naturally you meant me and everyone in it, isn't it? I take it you already confirmed your companion to be not a girl?" At which, Jess who was just getting up from the floor, answered with an indignant huff: "I am most certainly a girl!"

"Not the two of you, them!" and the angered redhead swept out his arm to indicate the four "ladies" and the gentleman. Silence reigned for a moment as everyone in the Otheallo house took a minute to contemplate the group. Which in turn, the group eyed Wufei to do something to disperse any doubt that they weren't girls. However, it was apparent that the poor boy was at his limit already.

It was then that Duo put on the greatest performance of his life.

"Oh Ronald!" he cried, turning on the waterworks at full blast and giving everyone a very good scare. "Do you doubt me?" At that, Ronald acting on some primitive instinct, went up to console the brunette, who continued to sob as if her heart was broken.

Meanwhile, Quatre decided now was a good time to follow Jess's favorite solution, and fell to the floor with a stage whisper: "Oh! Lord help me . . ." Calculating accurately the timing it took for David to reach his side and catch him before his head hit the floor.

On the other hand, Heero chose to remain silent and continued to stare at Treize as if he had suggested something ludicrous; while Trowa looked towards the ceiling and wondered which part of his getup made him look feminine.

Seeing all this drama happening before his very eyes and that of the audience he wanted to convince, Treize desperately reasoned: "They are acting, you mustn't be taken in!"

"Do you like the Princess?" Lance bellowed at Trowa, the only obvious person in the room to be that of the stronger sex. In reply, Trowa feverously shook his head.

"Then why are you in the room with these girls? This is most unbecoming of a gentleman! Explain yourself!"

At which, Duo took it upon himself to do the explanation for the dumbstruck boy, whose eyes were now starting to search for any form of escape out of the room. Bursting into a fresh bout of tears, he sobbed out: "Oh Helen! You have to tell them! That you . . . Him . . . !"

Much to the horror Japanese boy, who suddenly found himself on the receiving end of attention by a whole roomful of interested people.

"Are the two of you in LOVE?" Lance questioned, taking a menacing step forward. The two boys in question shook their head furiously, sweating buckets by the seconds.

Quatre, speaking up as if he was still weak from shock, muttered: "It is simply . . . p . . . pre . . ."

"She is PREGNANT?" Lance bellowed out his own conclusion, sending a shockwave through the room. Jaws dropped and everyone looked hard at the belly of the said person, who in utter horror, clamped two hands over it, which unfortunately made him look all the more guilty.

'_I was going for presumptuous . . .' _Quatre thought before feeling the two murderous auras creep up and cocoon his body, fraying every nerve ending till he felt numb.

Without needing to guess where the bad karma was coming from, Quatre decided to resume his faint and pacify the angry boys at a later date. Meanwhile, burying his face into the chest of his "beloved", Duo shook with laughter knowing that others would see him as weeping uncontrollably, while Chang decided that maybe being unable to see anything else at the moment was a good thing. If anything, he knew those two were gonna go out for blood once this whole charade was over.

"That is . . . That's impossib . . ." Treize started, only to be cut off again by a delighted scream from the lady of the house.

"How romantic!" she exclaimed, while all the female occupants "ooh" and "ahh" over this idea in agreement.

"My lady! That conclusion . . ."

"Is without a doubt, true," Lady Otheallo finished for the red-haired man, ignoring his jaw dropping wide open. "No wonder there is a rancid smell here. She just had her morning sickness."

"How terrible," her husband contributed, frowning upon the pair who were now beginning to turn a slight shade of green. "This sort of social class mixing should not be allowed."

"Oh, you and your rules again," Lady Otheallo chided as she moved forwards, continuing only after she had placed a comforting arm around the "girl", "That didn't stop you when you courted me."

"You were only one class below me," Lance sulkily defended his own choice of a life partner.

"Yes, yes . . ." the lady dismissively agreed with her husband and smiled down at the boyish-looking girl looking back up at her with an expressionless face. But unknown to the lady, Heero was far from calm, his mind was a whirlwind of confusion and emotions. One thing he was sure, Doctor J never covered a subject like this and he didn't know how to handle a sticky situation like this other than jumping out of the window and running for all his worth, which unfortunately, was impossible as the lady had him firmly in her grip.

"Now, we need to make the man responsible for this mess," she said, shooting Trowa that knowing look. Cringing back, Trowa reached under his jacket for his knives only to find Duo suddenly embracing him with a cry: "You don't mean to leave us now, do you?" Drawing frowns all across the room and whispers of what they thought of his cowardice.

Normally, this quiet youth would look on the brunette's nonsense with an acceptance that he was a lively individual as boisterous as his circus family. But now, in this kind of situation, he was beginning to empathize with Chang's pain and develop a similar belief that the American needed a few hard lessons in physical pain to bring him to the level of emotional pain he himself was suffering.

"You there!" the man of the house bellowed at Trowa again, shocking the daylights out of him and making him stand at attention. "Do you intend to do that?"

Trowa denied it by shaking his head as hard as he could to show his sincerity.

"Then it's settled."

"But . . . But . . ." Treize started, realizing now that the situation was out of his control and if possible, out of reality too.

"No buts out of you, young man!" Lance commanded him, forcing him to shut his mouth and listen. "If it wasn't for you, this problem might have been solved on it's own. But now that my wife have notice of it, she won't rest until it is fully solved in her presence!"

"Oh Lance, do not make me sound so horrible. What is wrong with a wedding to celebrate with our party? It's like a double blessing! All we have to do is simply hire a priest for tomorrow and I can loan her one of my white dresses and gloves. You do have white shoes, don't you darling?"

Pattering on about what was needed to add on and totally ignoring a whole roomful of stunned gentleman, Lady Otheallo left with her maids in tow to prepare for the next day's big celebration. The only person not surprised by this turn of events was her husband, who turned to Treize with a threatening look on his face: "You are paying for all the extra cost she is coming up for this _wedding._"

"But I was trying to find who was behind the kidnapping of the princess . . ."

"And as far as I am concern, there is no such thing as a Singapore or a princess at this moment. All I do know is the mending of that toilet pipe," and the older man pointed at the broken end of the pipe hanging in view of the window, "is your responsibility. I will be sending you the **whole bill **once this party is over, do you understand? Your family will also be getting wind of your ridiculous exploits once I can find the time to get behind my desk."

For a moment, Treize opened his mouth and looked like he would carry the argument further. However, on second thought, he shut it again and tight-lipped, answered: "As you wish. I bide you a pleasant night, sir."

Then turning on his heel, he gave his command to his men and exited the room behind them. Only to re-enter, make for the bathroom and pulled a reluctant Jess out behind him before exiting the room again.


	86. Turning of Events

_AN: Thanks for pointing out my mistake. Sorry I could only correct it today. Sigh . . . Life is busy once you start working. _

_**Chapter 86**_

_The next day . . ._

"What's this? I came with the expectation of a dinner function and suddenly I find myself attending a wedding. How did it come to this?" Zech questioned when he finally found Treize, who was standing at the foot of the red carpet, just simply gazing at the altar with a blank look on his face. The accusing way the blond was looking at him gave some indication that his friend might have a bit of knowledge on how the event changed from dinner to wedding.

Sighing as he ran a hand through his hair, the redhead tried hard to squish an irritating throb starting at the back of his skull. Bad enough he had to be here, now he had to answer his friend's questions which he hardly had the answers to.

"Would you believe that things just happened?"

"Things don't just happen. That is for fairytales. Something must have been triggered first in order for this whole thing to happen," the blond gentleman rebutted, folding his arms in defense.

"Well now," Treize smirked, feeling a sudden uplift in attitude from gloomy to sadistic, "the reason for that happens to be conveniently here." And he pulled out an unwilling Jess from behind him like a magician.

Then ignoring Zech's surprise, the captor caught hold of the frightened girl's face and ordered with a manic grin: "Say hi to my best buddy, _deary_. We have known each other since childhood."

Whether she was too shocked for words or that she was frightened badly by such rough treatment, the girl could only stare doe-eyed at the young blond man.

"Go on," Treize prompted, shaking her a little.

The lips moved but no words poured forth.

"Your bride?" Zech asked, deciding to take pity on the girl. To his irritation, his friend burst into hearty laughter.

"Ever heard of bait?" his friend returned with a wicked gleam in his eyes once he got over his laughter, and dropped his hand from the girl's face. The action brought to Zech notice that the girl's hand dropped to a certain level. A glimmer of silver gave hint as to why the circumstances looked so awkward to him.

"What's with the handcuff? Scared she runs away from you at the start of the ceremony?"

"Hardly. As I answered just now, she's not the bride."

"Then who is?"

No sooner had the question left his lips, a commotion started at the doorway of the house before traveling down, brushing past them to leap into the bushes. Pursued by a whole lot of maids in desperate haste, pleading with the person running ahead to return back to the fitting room. Even though the encounter was brief, Zech had managed to get an eyeful of brown hair, tied up in a polka dot ribbon, dashing past them with a face quite similar to a certain Japanese boy he knew.

Still stunned by the unbelievable sight, he barely heard his friend's reply: "Well, there is your answer ."

"And you are the groom?" Zech could barely speak out the question, for fear that perhaps his friend, in his thirst to catch the elusive Japanese rebel, had taken a sick perversion to females who looked like his targets.

"Ha! No. There he is," came the quick reply, a tone of evil enjoyment in his voice. Turning his head with some difficulty, dreading what he would see, Zech saw a handsome youth some distance away, this time chased by the household's butlers wielding stun guns, going the opposite way.

"Then what does this make you in the whole thing? Father of the bride?"

"Nope. Sponsor of the bride."

"Ahhhh . . . I see. Well . . . This is good news."

"And how is it good news? I'll be paying for a wedding whose relation to me is null."

"Well . . . Urn's here."

"Pardon? She is suppose to be taking care of things back in the base."

"Oh, she's taking care of them alright. She brought the whole base."

"And why is she doing this?"

"Remember how she pledged to follow you to the ends of the earth to show her loyalty?"

"I fail to see how this connects to that since this is an obvious breach of obedience."

"Well . . .," Zech hesitated on answering, choosing instead to edge away from the odd couple. Once satisfied on the distance between them, he continued: "When she heard "wedding" and your name in it, that kind of brought out the darker side of the meaning underlining such a pledge."

"Like?"

**Bling! Plank! Crank!** The tableware on the nearest table exploded under heavy gun fire.

"If-I-can't-have-him, no-one-will! Vow," Zech shouted back over his shoulder at the couple, now fleeing desperately like him from the range of fire.

* * *

_4 hours earlier . . ._

"Now He-chan, let's just remember that I never lied. All that I have revealed so far was selective disclosure," Duo spoke as he backed away from the Japanese boy, now screwing the silencer on his gun. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Trowa wiping clean one of his knives. No doubt waiting for his turn with the American.

"Hn . . ." Heero half-heartedly replied, pulling back the cork and taking aim at him.

"And things weren't so bad until Quatre decided to go for the "pregnancy" word."

"Hey! I was going for presumptuous, not pregnancy," the blond immediately defended, upset that he was now placed in the line of attention.

"Doesn't change the fact that "presume-something" word led to their joyful reunion." the boy returned as he tried to skip out of the gun's range.

"And it certainly doesn't change the fact that if you hadn't opened your big mouth, this kind of thing wouldn't have happened," Wufei curtly answered on behalf of the poor desperate blond, feeling pity for the innocent victim.

"Whoa there! If _you_ had tried putting up a show as I did, I'm pretty sure things would have ended up differently. Stop that Hee-chan!" the brunette admonished as he dodged three bullets that trailed after him.

"You're lucky I even let that whim hug me," the Chinese snarled back, going on the offensive at the reminder of the unpleasant evening. "I do not indulge in such sick perverse actions nor do I intend to allow them to continue!"

"Tough luck," Duo returned between gunshots, over turning a table and converting it into a temporary shield. "Unless we get Jess away from that person, the likelihood of you stopping this charade is zero. Nada. Zilch!"

"Ok, Helen, that is enough. I am going to teach that smart mouth a lesson he'll never forget!" Wufei instructed, pushing away from the wall he was leaning on, and striding forwards with a determination they had not seen for a month. "I may not have my sword, but my martial arts skill should suffice."

"Now, Wu-chan, let's not be hasty," Duo quickly injected, trying his best to place the table between the two of them.

"Oh, I don't think I am. Never mind that we had to go to school as girls, or you get to hook up with the most decent guy among us, or that we had to go through that shameless routine you thought up for all of us on stage, in front of a whole school of hormonal-raging boys. This marriage fiasco really tops the list of all the annoying things and trouble you have created for us."

"But we're the same age as them. We're hormonal-raging boys too, you know," Duo quickly pointed out.

"Fine, I apologize," Wufei calmly said, bringing the whole room to a standstill at his choice of words. Obviously none of them agreeing for they immediately frowned at the Chinese.

Meanwhile, Duo could hardly believe his ears. "You do?" he questioned, letting an expression of amazement take over his face.

"Of course," Wufei angelically replied, before grabbing the guy's neck that was visible above the table, and choking him. "Let me show you my gratitude for making us perform out your sick fantasies in front of a male audience."

"We can always hold a private viewing for the female ones here," Duo squeaked out while he tried to pry open the death grip Wufei had on his neck.

"And people with a conscience would know what is appropriate to act out and what is meant to be kept in the recesses of one's mind," Wufei retorted, asserting more pressure on the flesh and taking delight in seeing the American's face turn red as a lobster.

After allowing a few more seconds to pass, where the boy's face turned from red to white, Quatre took pity on the poor brunette and decided to point out that Duo had indeed made a valid point about their need to snatch Jess from the clutches of Treize.

"So what do you propose we do, genius?" Wufei sarcastically questioned, releasing his grip on the guy's throat and letting him fall out of sight behind the table.

"Well . . . I'm guessing we'll just have to go through with the ceremony. . ." the blond pondered aloud, cupping his chin with one hand while staring hard at the ground in deep thought.

"I'll rather die," Heero immediately voiced his protest. Meanwhile, Trowa's knives slipped from his fingers, the only action that betrayed how utterly shocked he was by the suggestion his dearest friend was making.

Picking up on the cues from his friends were blatantly giving out, Quatre came out of his musings to assure them that he didn't mean that they had to go through with the whole thing. Just enough to distract the commander away from his little charge and give them an opening to snatch the girl from his grip. Little did they realize that Treize had anticipated their little plan and literally chained her to himself. . .

* * *

_Back to the present. . ._

"So much for operation: Snatching", Duo grouched under his breath from where he and Quatre lay in the under bush, observing the couple. "Now Zech is here. How in the world are we gonna successfully obtain this goal?"

"Sssshhhhh!" Quatre hissed under his breath, bringing a finger to his lips. "I can't hear what they are saying."

"I doubt it's the blueprints for the next war," Duo returned, raising an eyebrow at the odd couple with a slight distaste expressed on his face. Currently, Treize had burst into laughter and was looking more relaxed than he had earlier, around a more clearly annoyed Zech.

"The angle of her hand looks odd," Quatre mumbled, more to himself than to the American, as he squinted at the way Jess held her hand.

"So does the horizon," Duo returned, surveying the left where he noticed the end of garden was growing more shadowed by the minute.

"He has her handcuffed to himself!" Quatre exclaimed, feeling terribly shocked of the ungentlemanly behavior Treize was displaying.

"And I don't like the way that shadow is growing . . ." Duo whispered to Quatre, his attention focused on another entirely different thing. However, the Arab was more preoccupied with this little hurdle in their plan and missed the worrisome note in his co-pilot's voice.

Meanwhile, as planned, Heero and Trowa carried out their plan of dividing attention and distracting everyone. Much to the blond's dismay, since he hadn't taken into consideration that Treize would go through the extra length to ensure his charge remained by his side. Then hitting on a brilliant idea, Quatre turned to ask if Duo's stun device was still on him; finally noticing his friend looking plainly distracted himself.

"What is wrong?"

Pointing at the far end of the field, the long-haired boy asked: "That is Treize's robot, right?" Following the direction his finger was pointing, Quatre couldn't help but stare at the gigantic white robot silently trending over the hedge and heading for the trio. Mutedly, he could only nod in agreement.

"Ok. . . If he's standing here, who's in there?" Duo left the question hanging, watching the robot draw closer and closer. Then they noticed that Zech was starting to edge back, away from the couple.

Suddenly, the problem wasn't about getting Jess away from Treize. Or that they were going to be in jeopardy with the doctors if they came back empty-handed. Rather, they realized the real problem lay with the constant companion of the commander, now missing from his side.

"Run!" Duo instructed, jumping up and running for the house as the first showers of bullets whizzed around them, Quatre following close on his heels.

* * *

"You dropped the key?!" Jess all but shrieked at the man breathing hard by her side. "How could you drop the key?!"

"Well . . . It's certainly not with me. And I'm very much against going back out there to search for it," the redhead returned between breaths. As if to remind them of the sticky situation the both of them were in, the windows on either side of them burst into smithereens from the bullets fired outside.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" the Chinese girl questioned, giving him a rather exasperated look.

"I only need to figure out who is in that suit . . ."

"Gosh. Are you dense or what? Who else will feel jealous over me?"

For a moment, Treize stared at her. Then he started to laugh in that patronizing way of his before answering: "If you must know, you look rather ordinary. I doubt you can inspire anyone to have that . . ."

"Can we put that issue aside for the moment?" Jess requested through gritted teeth, feeling terribly insulted now that everything was made clear on why he was so comfortable around her. "Who is not here and is female? Or rather, who else is _suppose_ not to be here and is female?"

"You talking about Iria? I'm pretty sure she got the invitation from Lord Lancer."

"I'm talking about UNE! Your lady and subordinate. Trusted ally. Currently in that suit, perhaps?"

"And why would she feel jealous over you?" Now it was Treize turn to fix her a skeptical look. "She should have total confidence that my actions are purely for The Federation."

"I doubt the word "wedding" screams of acting in the organization's interest, no matter how you look at it."

"So?"

"Your name was mentioned with the word: _wedding._ And you took _me_ along instead of **her**. Any sane lady would jump to that kind of conclusion!" Jess shouted over the din as the building shook from the robot's effort in ramming a hole through the walls.

"So you're implying that the female race has the tendency to loose their marbles when drawing such conclusions."

"No."

"Oh, then you're implying it is a perfectly normal action for any lady to jump into a mobile suit, devastate the whole area, in pursuit of the philandering man."

"No! Well . . . It could be possible if she has the resources."

"Prove that it is Une in there."

Whether it was the challenge in Treize voice, or that she was still smarting from the insult he had given her earlier, something in Jess burst, releasing a hot rush of anger which surged through her head.

"Fine!" she returned and grabbed the curtain flapping in the breeze, which was now coming in through the broken window; pulling until a sizeable portion separated and came away in her hands. "You have a pen?"


	87. Swopping places

_Merry Christmas to one and all. I hope you are all enjoying the festive season. Some good news, the story will be ending soon, probably on the 100th chapter as anticipated but i hope to make it earlier. Also, as for the timeline, I was never a fussy person to begin with and also with Jess in the picture, I guess you can say the time line is totally messed up. Oh well, hope you guys will just enjoy this fic as a fun read and that it brightens some moments in your life if possible as my total intention for this fic was to make people laugh as well enjoy a good read. _

_So here's to everyone, Merry christmas and have a blessed year ahead. :] Ayako [:_

**Chapter 87**

Hiro pulled his red Leo's mobile suit up short, alongside the rest of the commando squad. Behind him was the whole fleet of Treize's robotic army division, all silently waiting for the order to attack. Only one thing was certain among them: no one was sure if they had gotten the place right. If anything, it looked more of an occasion to celebrate than to wage war.

The intercom flickered to life, separating into eight miniature screens, all displaying the uncertain faces of his co-pilots, no doubt watching the antics of a lone robot causing enough chaos and destruction to what was to be a blessed event.

"You think Miss "P" lost it big time?" Andrio asked, his freckles showing more prominently against the white of his face in the luminescent light cast by his own screen. But then, everyone faces were looking quite white after they marched past the Otheallo gates.

"What do you mean big time? She loses it every time. And you know who causes it!" Elbert, joker and straight talker of their group, pointed out. And despite his pitiful attempt to lighten the air, the atmosphere just got gloomier.

"You think this would affect our bonuses?" Timothy timidly asked, his attention slightly distracted by a lone maid running past them, screaming her head off. If it weren't for the awkward situation they were in, Hiro would have laughed at this almost comical sight.

"If we are lucky, we get to keep our jobs," Hubert answered, his face taking on a grave countenance as he watched a section of the wall finally crumble to dust under Tallgeese's pounding.

"Then lets get on it," Hiro instructed, narrowing his green eyes as he launched his robot towards the white mobile suit. "He's there."

_____________________________________________________________________

"Change it," Treize instructed, shoving the piece of curtain back at Jess without giving it a second look.

"Hey, you challenged me to prove Une is in your idiotic goose!"

'It's_ Tallgeese_, and it's a mobile suit equipped with superior AI and the latest artillery range."

"Doesn't change fact you name it after a bunch of goose, probably tall ones, **and . . .**" Jess continued, shooting Treize a warning look about interrupting her when he didn't seem pleased with what she had just said, "It's trying to kill us. Ha! So much for the superior AI your robot is suppose to possess."

"First of all . . .! Oh, why do I even bother arguing with a girl like you?!" Treize exasperatedly questioned himself, dropping all thoughts in favor of rubbing the throbbing ache starting between his brows, which were happening more frequently the longer he stayed with the girl. "Just change the darn, bloody words!"

"'Surprise! Marry me, Une!' I think it is rather sentimental," Jess concluded, enjoying Treize freaked out reaction as she read aloud the words.

"Just change the *peeeeeeep* *peeeeep* words!"

"But I like them. They express your inner heart!"

"My inner heart?! I could kill you right now with my bare hands!"

"You'll thank me some day. I just know it."

"Aaaarrrhhhhhhh!" Treize screamed in agony, clutching his head as his headache climaxed and burst into a molten hot, white lava that spread leisurely across every inch of his brain. Meanwhile, Jess clutched the curtain in both hands, keeping it between them as some sort of shield.

"I could hold and you read," Jess volunteered, watching in horrified fascination as veins inched across the white of Treize's eyes. However, he had reached a stage where he was immune to all noise except the pounding in his head.

"Change the freaking words, or so help me, I will strangle you right here and now," Treize threatened, towering over her with his tall frame, making her more aware of how hard it was for her to escape him should he loose his cool.

It was just at that moment, the wall finally gave way under the brute force of the machine and crumbled into a cloud of dust that filled the hallway they were in.

"Too late," Jess triumphantly replied, resisting the urge to cough under the thick volume of swirling dust. And she turned to hold the curtain high as the white mobile suit took it's first step into the house of Otheallo.

___________________________________________________________________

Moon decided that she had enough of being a maid in the Otheallo household. What with Lord Lance short-tempered ways, Lady Lance nosey behavior, and the yearly guest list that brought more and more unrefined guests, she wanted out. As far as security was concerned, that notion was blasted to oblivion when those huge robots gate crashed the wedding today.

Yes, Moon had joined the household of servants because she thought she could escape from the dangerous life which most of the common folk suffered in their ramshackle holdings. Plus her research on the occupants of the house had given her the impression that it was highly unlikely that any war would be waged on the grounds owned by such an affluent and prominent family.

"Well," she huffed to herself, as she squashed the last of her belongs into a tiny suitcase she owned. "Looks like I'm wrong again." Taking one last look at the room, which had been her lodging for the past two years, Moon wasn't sad to leave it behind.

It was a rather sparsely furnished room: one bed, one cupboard, a washing stand and a lamp which she hung from the ceiling on the nights she wanted to read a book. It was all she was given for serving in the household of the Otheallos. After today, it would be someone else's room to live in.

Throwing open her door, she was surprised to find herself looking at the same four, trouble-causing girls, all hurdled round her door with a iron lamp stand that usually stood at the end of the hallway. She noticed that the boy stood apart from them, looking emotionless as always.

"What do you think you are doing?" she questioned sharply, giving them a good glare to let them know she wasn't in a good mood and they were the reason why she was feeling that way. At her question, all four of them placed the lamp stand down gently and then looked at her with calculating eyes.

"I'll scream," she warned, stepping back into her room.

"You can try," the brunette sweetly answered with a twisted smile before the other three streamed in at an alarming speed; two of them catching her on either side of her arms, the third hitting a point at the base of her throat and immobilizing her. "But you won't be able to."

____________________________________________________________________

"See, I told you it was her . . ." Jess whispered from the corner of her mouth as the mobile suit stopped its descent into the house.

"I hate you," Treize unemotionally expressed back through the same way of communication.

"I believe some day we'll all laugh at this and cheerfully too."

"At my expense, isn't it?"

"Say that louder," Jess taunted, watching as the hatch opened to reveal the slim young lady behind the controls. "I don't think she heard you."

"Humph."

"Sure beats never getting to the ceremony at all," Jess muttered her thoughts aloud under her breath.

"Pardon?"

"Smile, she's here," Jess commanded while giving a side kick to Treize's leg as the lady reached the ground and started to walk towards them.

When she was only a few steps away, Une stopped; scrutinizing the curtain with arduous care, her expression a cross between skepticism and apprehension. And as expected, her interrogation wasn't long in coming.

"That's not a proper banner," she stated, pointing out the obvious.

"We lost the real one just now," Jess quickly answered, refusing to be intimidated.

"That isn't his handwriting."

"Of course, it's mine. The words are his, straight from his heart," Jess answered, ignoring a sudden eerie crawl, which started from the base of her handcuff, slowly making its way through her whole body, paralyzing her. No prizes in guessing who was sending the bad karma to her.

"I do not see a wedding dress."

"Of course, it's in the room waiting for you," Jess immediately answered upon recalling that Heero had dashed past in his usual outfit earlier, and the maids' entreaty for him to return to the fitting room.

"And the ring?"

"In his pocket."

"I wasn't invited to this place."

"Actually, he was counting that you heard the news and would come rushing in like you did just now, only minus the big white robot there." By now, Jess was practically forcing the words through her teeth because the eerie crawl had just turned painful without any physical exertion on the part of the culprit. If Jess hadn't watched the anime, she might have thought Treize was actually one powerful wizard in disguise.

"And the tables, chairs and food for the guests?"

"Paid for by him," Jess gleefully pointed out the one truth in the conversion ever since she started talking to Une, and regretted it for the pain now engulfed her whole body like fire.

"What about . . ."

"You know what? Why don't you ask this guy over here instead? I only know so much of his plans at this stage," Jess quickly cut in, deciding that she didn't want to test how much pain Treize could mentally send over to her. And to her delight, the sensation vanished like it was never there before, leaving Jess wishing that she had directed the lady's attention to the culprit much earlier in the conversation.

Folding her arms and directing a good glare at Treize, the lady finally questioned after letting a few tense moments of silence pass between them: "What is with the handcuff?"

_*Special thanks to Dragonpit for pointing out where my spelling went wrong.*_


	88. Wedding

_AN: Gosh, it's almost half a year! How time flies. I really enjoyed writing this chapter and believe it or not, I wrote it about 3 months ago (I think) but never got down to editing it until now. Ha ha, my apologies for being so lazy. Hope i haven't lost my sense of humour and that all of you readers enjoy a good laugh. _

**Chapter 88**

Moon fumed as she worked furiously on the rope binding her to the chair; using a small Swiss knife she always kept hidden within the recesses of her skirt. As far as she was concerned, she now had a score to settle with those troublesome girls.

Never mind they took the uniforms and wore them. Never mind they took all the household appliances they could get their hands on; like the new duster that was a week-old, or the small sliver polishing cloth. It was the very thought that one of the hellions actually dared to rummage through her bags and distribute her accessories to the rest as if they were part of the uniform.

And to top it all off, that girl had the audacity to give her a mock bow as thanks; bouncing out the room while petting the area where her sapphire hairpin kept the headscarf secured to that awful girl's brown wavy hair. Yes, Moon had a score to settle, _especially_ with that girl, and she wasn't leaving until she had her revenge. With renewed energy and a determined glint in her eye, the black-haired girl sawed the rope with such fervency that it took a mere ten minutes for the rope to give way.

Giving rein to her temper, she stood up and marched out, grabbing the iron lamp-stand as she moved past the doorway into the hall.

**_____________________________________________________________________**

It was right before the music played that Jess got to see something she had never seen before in the anime. And it was right at the moment when Une appeared in the doorway of the house, all dressed for the wedding and looking very much like an angel.

"…ring in my pocket…"

"What?" Jess whispered back, her attention on the captivating bride.

"You said the ring is in my pocket, which I do not have in reality," the nervous bridegroom gritted out between clinched teeth. Meanwhile, Une had taken hold of a somewhat stunned-looking Lord Lancer's arm, who looked as bluffed as all his other guests. But then, no one was saying a single word, since soldiers occupied the outer chairs of every single row, thereby effective guarding the parameters of the assembly, while mobile suits stood at attention on the whole out-skirts of the field.

"Oh…"

"Don't "oh" me. You got me into this mess, you get me out or so help me, I will kill you regardless whether you are bait or not."

"That depends if you have managed to find the handcuff key…" Jess returned smoothly without batting an eyelid. "What's that sound?"

"Ignore it."

"No. It's irritating. It's going '_knock-ka-knock-knock_'…" it was then that Jess realized that the sound was coming from Treize and it was emitting from his knees as they knocked against each other.

"I heard of cold feet on the big day, but yours are weak knees," Jess stated, unable to tear her eyes away from this unusual reaction to the big moment. She was caught by surprise when Treize seized her chin and forced her to look up into his face.

"You would too if there ain't no ring! Now little Missy full-of-ideas, what shall we do?"

"Key?"

"Over my dead body."

"That shouldn't be too long," Jess smugly answered, pulling her chin out of his grasp to give the approaching bride a welcoming smile.

____________________________________________________________________

Hiro watched his screen with some suspicion as a troop of maids and a butler walked out of the house after the bride had reached the starting point of the red carpet. Each of them bearing a tray filled with wine glasses on one hand and marching with an efficiency that looked too perfect.

"What's this?" he heard Elbert questioned, no doubt watching the same gang of maids with the same mounting suspicion. Heightening as the last one appeared with a half broken duster, which she nonchalantly threw over her shoulder into the doorway of the house. "The waiters ran off and they got the cleaning ladies to do the job?"

"Ha ha, very funny El," Hubert deadpan in reply, "Only you can think of such a reason."

"Then what do you suggest we do? Apprehend them now?"

"See that lady in white drifting down the red carpet at the moment? I give you three guesses on what she will do to _us_ if we so much as move one finger," the broad-shouldered man replied, blinking his hazel eyes lazily at them from the screen.

"But the wine could be drugged!" Andrio pointed out while Timothy nodded his head gravely in agreement.

"Yes, but that's only for them. We are fine in here and if the situation gets out of control, all we have to do is step in. No one here can fight us, not with these babies we're in."

"What do you suggest, Hiro?" the black-haired boy suddenly found himself on the receiving end of his co-pilots' attention. Brushing back his fringe, he answered: "We go with Hubert's plan. I think his is the most rational choice at the moment."

_____________________________________________________________________

With each step that Lady Une took, Jess could see the red-headed gentleman growing more and more wooden. At the moment, his lips were frozen on his face; looking more like a grimace instead of a smile.

Nudging him gently, she advised: " Relax. This will be over before you know it."

"At the moment, it is **starting** before I even know it. And to be honest, I am not ready."

"No one is," Jess agreed, nodding her head wisely. She was awarded by a sudden flash of anger directed at her from Treize as he "smiled" down at her. "I'll just keep quiet now."

"Good," Treize intoned and that ended their conversation. Which was a good thing for the lovely bride had reached and she took the arm that was handcuff-free, all the while fixing her love-filled eyes on the man of her dreams.

Meanwhile, the pastor giving the surrounding robots one last fright-filled glance, cleared his throat and started the ceremony.

"Dearly beloved families and friends," he began, "we are gathered here today to celebrate this happy occasion, the union of these two joyful people, in marital bliss." At this sentence, he heard a snort coming from somewhere in the crowd. However, that was promptly addressed by a sudden gun shot coming from the sidelines followed by a thick, solemn silence that descended heavily into place.

Resisting the urge to run screaming from the field, the pastor continued, secretly praying hard for the poor soul that lost his earthly body; that upon reaching heaven as he hoped, would look down and intercede to the Almighty for the much needed protection.

_____________________________________________________________________

As the boys stood at attention, patiently waiting for the ceremony to conclude, they couldn't help but notice an indiscrete figure moving about the field on all fours, face close to the ground as if to kiss mother earth, ignoring the ceremony going on. Normally, such behavior would have been frowned on. However, given the circumstances, nothing short of inevitable death, would have the current crowd tear their eyes from the nuptial ceremony going on.

Leaning to his left, Duo whispered to Heero under his breath: "What do you think Zech is doing?" In response, Heero shrugged his shoulders and continued staring straight ahead towards alter where the trio stood, in front of the pastor.

"Think he's looking for his wallet?"

"Hn."

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"Hn."

"Now I'm confused. You're answering the first question or the second?"

"Hm…"

"Would it kill you to talk? Like two words at least?"

"Shut up, Dorine. There, I spoke three."

"You are so weird."

"Hn."

Rolling his eyes towards the heavens, Duo gave up and watched as Zech crept past them for the second time, wondering what could be so important that the long-haired blonde had to miss his best friend's wedding.

_____________________________________________________________________

As hoped, things continued smoothly until the pastor found himself approaching the much dreaded question. The question that he was familiar with and always looked forward with interest to see if there would be a good show for him to watch. But given the circumstances, for once, the pastor found himself wishing that such a question had never been invented for the couple to affirm that they had been true to each other.

Fumbling as he turned the page, the pastor started to mumble.

"Pastor?" Lady Une asked, concern crossing her face. "Is anything wrong?"

"Oh no, child. Just a little uncomfortable…" he whispered back.

"I'll get one of our army doctors to tend to you once the ceremony is over," Une promised, genuine sincerity displayed on her face.

"Yes, thank you child," the pastor answered, and wished he could immediately skip the sentence to the ending proclamation.

Coughing a little, the pastor took a deep breath. Then, feeling his courage surge, he spoke out: "If anyone of you objects, say it now or forever hold your peace."

It was then that Zech, oblivious to where exactly the ceremony was at, jumped up with a fist outstretched in the air and shouted: "YES!"

No sooner were the words spoken, every single gun and artillery, from both men and machines, turned and aimed at him.

"No, stand down!" Treize commanded, as Une face turned thunderous on hearing that there was actually a person with the gall to object in the face of such overwhelming adversity. Meanwhile, the girl who had been quietly behaving throughout the ceremony, let her jaw drop with shock on seeing who the protestor was. The heavy silence that followed did nothing to elevate the uncomfortable atmosphere, already burdened with doom from the start of the ceremony.

"Now Une dear, this isn't what it seems…" he started to explain on behalf of his friend and for his action.

However, the lady kept silent and continued to stare stonily ahead.

"He was just trying to help me search for something…" Treize continued, giving his best man a nod to proceed forward to them. It was then that Une dropped her hand from his arm and took a sidestep away, much to the groom's dismay.

Feeling at his wits end, Treize turn to his only salvation of hope. The girl who caused the mess in the first place. Giving her a small kick in ankle, he waited . . . and regretted he ever relied on her for help.

"You like **MEN**?!?!" was the first thing out of her mouth as she looked back at him with disgust written all over her face.

"No! Of course not! Don't you take her word for it, Une…" Treize tried to pacify the now boiling lady as she turned murderous eyes on him.

"As much as I like to believe you, circumstances indicates you rather not be tied to me."

And to add fuel to the fire, the girl nodded her head with agreement, looking at him as if she had caught him in the act of lying.

"Argh! That's not true. You have no idea how joyous I am on starting this journey with you by my side. You! Behave more like a prisoner! And don't give me that look! Might I remind you who is in-charge here."

"As far as I am concern, she may act any way she likes," Une interceded, her voice taking on an icy tone, the kind that could freeze men to the floor. "In fact, I think she has a very good point!"

"Zech! Please show them both what I had asked you to help me do earlier…" Treize, in a tired voice, finally turned to the only person he knew that had any sense in this whole episode. With a solemn air about the young gentleman, he held out his clenched fist and slowly revealed a tiny key nestled in the palm of his hand.

"Handcuff key?" Une uttered under her breath, looking a bit puzzled.

"Yes. As I promised her," Treize answered as he took it out of his friend's hand and deposited it into the eagerly waiting hands of the girl.

"Why?"

"**She** has the rings, not me."

"You have the rings?" Une now directed the question to the happy teenager, now unlocking her side of the handcuff.

"Yep, I do," the girl answered without flinching.

"Anyone else?" the forgotten pastor desperately called out and without even giving a chance for anyone to answer, he continued: "I now pronounce you man and wife. Please exchange the rings."

"I think he messed up the ceremony a bit there," Zech murmured under his breath, frowning a little at the pastor.

"Doesn't matter, suits me pretty well," Treize brushed it off without missing a beat. "Ring please."

"May the lovely bride stretch out her hand?" Jess sweetly requested and once Une had done as she had asked, moved quickly and clamped the handcuff securely round the delicate lady's wrist. Then, she spun on her heel and threw the key over the pastor head into the field behind.

"Arrrhhhh!" both men hollered in horror, watching as the key glinted once before disappearing from sight.

"No ring?" Une calmly questioned the girl again.

"The handcuffs are rings. Our traditional Chinese wedding ceremonies believe in binding the man's hand to the woman's hand with red cloth as a sign that the two people shall now be bound together to lead life as one person. Through weal and woe, thick and thin. But cloth can tear. Yours is better, it's made of metal. Symbolism wise, it gonna take a lot to break the two of you apart," Jess happily explained.

"Or it could take one little key," Treize insinuated, hovering over her like a malicious hawk.

"That why I threw it away," Jess returned smoothly with a smirk.

"I'll kill you," Treize immediately decided, moving forward, hands outstretched.

"You do no such thing," Une counteracted, jerking back her handcuffed hand to restrain the angry man, her free hand pulling the young girl to her side like a protective mother hen.

"But…" Treize began, only to be silenced by the fierce glare he received from his spouse. Gritting his teeth and jumping a few times, he finally got his temper under control and grouchily asked: "How long do we have to wear this thing?"

"Not sure. You can remove it tomorrow?" On hearing her answer, Treize slapped his free hand to his face and muttered a curse under his breath.

"And pray, are you gonna suggest that we get someone to cut the chains loose?"

"Of course not. They should be your keepsakes. Just get him to search for the key," Jess replied, tilting her head in Zech direction.

"Again?" the blond questioned in horror, looking very much like he would rather ditch the whole thing instead.

"Or darling," Lady Une cut in, gently cupping her husband face in her hands and waiting patiently for him to look at her. "We could get the locksmith tomorrow to crack it open."

For a moment, it looked like Treize would argue. However, after a minute of thinking, the red-head expression soften and he nodded his head agreeably.

Seeing that the tense moment had finally passed, the pastor cleared his throat and prompted the happy couple: "You may now kiss the bride." And everyone cheered as the couple sealed their marriage with a kiss, partly out of relief and partly out of goodwill.

Seeing the bridal couple kiss, the G-boys took it as their que and started to distribute the drinks to the people gathered there.

"A toast to the happy couple!" Jess shouted to the partying crowd and grabbed three drinks from the nearest tray to give Une, Treize and Zech. However, all of them raised their glasses in the air and then drained the drink onto the ground.

"Nice try, girl." Treize smugly said, watching with satisfaction as the last drop of wine dropped from glass to ground.

"You must think we are not observant enough," Zech said next, flinging his long blond hair over his shoulder and giving her a rather wily smile.

"We are appreciative of all you've done but it has to end here," Une finished, setting her glass on the ground, ignoring the crowd dropping like flies to the ground. "You're free to go now."

"What about them?" Jess asked, dropping all pretense that they did not know about the rebels' presence.

"Oh, they are free to go. . . Provided if they can get through the defenses of my mobile suits," Treize answered, throwing the glass behind him and surveying the now unconscious crowd. "Since it's my big day, I'm feeling generous enough to give them 10 counts to get ahead. Starting right about… now."

With that, Jess turned and grabbed the nearest G-boy to her, which happened to be Quatre. "Ten counts! Move, move, MOVE!" she shouted at the top of her voice, racing as fast as her legs could go. And not needing further explanation, all the boys dropped their trays and glasses, and followed her.


	89. A happy ending

**Chapter 89**

Just as they reached the front porch of the house, a terrible growl emerged from within the doorway, followed shortly by the appearance of one, very angry, bedraggled girl, wielding an iron lamp stand, minus the light bulb and the lamp cover.

"Uh-oh," she heard Quatre mutter before he scooted back, dragging Jess along with him. However, the blond could have saved his energy for the girl scanned the six of them before resting her green eyes upon a particular brunette, looking back at her with the same intensity of fascinated horror.

"Wow…" breathed Duo before dodging the swinging lamp stand, jumping to his left with an agility he acquired from the years he roamed the streets. Unfortunately for Heero, he wasn't as quick and the end caught him at the side of his head, sending him staggering three steps while clutching the side that hurt. Letting his brows draw together in a frown, he threw the chasing girl an annoyed look.

That was however lost on the girl for she was hell-bent on getting her revenge on the little minx who dared to invade her privacy. Turning the lamp stand into a makeshift spear, she jabbed the four pointed-spokes at the culprit, ignoring the petrified silence that descended the moment she took aim at the brunette.

"What did you do to her?" Jess shouted after the American once she had collect her scattered wits, now jumping and dodging like a monkey as the girl trust the iron lamp stand viciously at the leaping figure.

"Nothing!" the boy hollered back, narrowly missing the last trust, and dropped to a roll in an effort to get behind the girl's back. "At least, nothing to make her this angry."

"Nothing?" the girl echoed after his response, her voice escalating to a near shriek. "Tying me up and taking my things? "Nothing?"

"Duo!" Jess admonished, disapproval written all over her face as she watched the fight continue.

"Well, to me this kind of thing is nothing!"

"Well, to us girls, this is something! Like 'you must pay with your life!' kind of thing if it is something precious you stole."

"Name one!" the boy threw back the challenge to the Chinese girl, in which his attacker took this opportunity to point out where all her misery lay. "That hairpin in your hair, the hand-embroidered handkerchief in your pocket, that hair band in that short-haired girl's hair, that bracelet on the blond's hand, that…"

"You went through her things?" Jess, all but screamed at the brown-haired idiot, recognizing the worst taboo Duo had committed. Checking a girl's things without permission.

"Her luggage wasn't locked! And they didn't say anything!" the brown-haired boy sulkily pointed out, dodging yet another trust aimed at his chest. At which, all the boys immediately shook their head in denial under the fierce glare Jess gave them.

"I thought they were part of the uniform," Quatre defended, looking terribly uncomfortable at being caught as an accomplice to such a low-brow act.

"Hn." Heero agreed while messaging the small little bump forming from the knock he received earlier.

"… Not wearing anything of hers…" Trowa answered with a little relief apparent in his voice.

"Face it; if we weren't trying to save you, you think this would happen?" Wufei, matter-of-factly, pointed out the obvious truth, effectively taking away any protest from Jess' lips.

"Fine. I'll do the talking. All of you just take off what belongs to her and return it."

"Even the uniforms?" Duo naughty asked and had to again dodge another swing from the iron lamp stand as his attacker took another pot shot at him. "I guess this is a no." he concluded and held out gingerly the hairpin and handkerchief to the angry girl.

Snatching it out of his hand without a so much "by-your-leave"acknowledgment, she threw him one last hate-filled glare and stalked back to the rest of the group for the retrieval of her precious belongings.

* * *

"I really must commemorate Lord Lancer on his choice of staff," Treize commented from the alter, with a touch of amusement in his voice. "Not only do they have spunk, I must say that they are quite the entertainment for a wedding reception."

"I take it you like that girl over there with the spiked pole," Une returned without flinching an eyelid.

"She'll make a nice addition to The Federation, don't you agree?"

"It depends if she likes undercover work or close hand combat," Une, dragging her eyes away from the fuming female, turned to give her husband a rather doe look. "As the way things look at the moment, she is fuelled by anger which gives a rather poor assessment of her skills."

"Then my lady, I shall leave this piece of recruitment in your capable hands."

"With pleasure. But first, our honeymoon," Une concluded with a final note in her voice, her look daring her spouse to challenge her on that aspect.

Throwing back his head, Treize roared with laughter.

* * *

Hiro stared at his big screen with disbelieve. Rubbing his eyes and blinking multiple times did not make the image go away. Meanwhile, he could vaguely hear his friends anxiously discussing what to do.

"Do they want them alive or dead?" Elbert questioned, scratching his head in confusion, watching as the duo danced to a silent rhythm.

"I think they would like us to capture them alive. . . Or at least one of them," Andrio answered, rubbing his chin in a rather thoughtful way.

"So do we open fire on the tenth count from our esteemed commander or do we take ten seconds which passed by about half a minute ago?" Frank, the silent one in their group, finally spoke, his bluish-gray eyes watching the sparing showmanship with some interest. Treize had apparently stopped the moment the girl took a swing at the American, which happened to be the fifth count.

There was a pause immediately after that question was spoken. Then, as one, they answered in unison: "Tenth count from commander." Unknown to the rest, Hiro breathed a sigh of relief and mentally urged the newcomer to exit as fast as she could before their red-headed leader resumed his counting.

* * *

As Moon grabbed the last of her items from the unresisting hand of the blond girl, she noticed a rather familiar sight. Straining her eyes, she squinted at a red Mobile Suit that stood at the far end of the field for a few moments, concentration written all over her face. Then, deciding on something, she took a step in the direction of the Leo.

"Hiro?" she half-called, half-quizzed, in the direction of the gigantic robot.

"Hn?" the short-haired girl, now minus her hair band, gave her an inquisitive look.

"What are you looking at?" she demanded, not liking the way another female was eyeing her, especially one with a very boyish look.

"Do I know you?"

"No . . ." Moon returned, feeling a bit queer. Then, turning to face the robot again, she hollered: "Hiro, if that is you, answer me!"

"Lady, I'm right here . . ." the words died on Heero's lips for at that moment, the hatch lifted, revealing a boy with the same fair complexion, jet-black hair and green eyes.

"Know it is you," the maid happily said as the young man returned the greeting: "Hi Sis."

At the alter, Treize decided that something had to be done and done meant _now_.

With a small wicked smirk, he looked at the young Japanese and ordered: "Hiro, go capture Heero."

"Hn, I don't work under you," Heero answered, rolling his eyes heaven upwards.

"True, but he does," the commander returned confidently, ignoring the young man retreating back into his cockpit.

"Hn . . ." Heero, for once in his life, looked a bit contemplative. Then letting a small trace of a smile appear on his lips, he grabbed the young man's sister and retorted: ". . . Not anymore."

"You don't know my man," the gentleman snorted, looking rather put off at such childish thinking.

"You don't know my sister," the worried voice of Hiro boomed out over the field through the machine's loudspeakers. That sentence wiped the triumphant look off Treize face and made Heero smile turn into a grin.

"You would disobey me?" he all but shouted at the huge mechanical doll. Meanwhile, both Zech and Une sighed and started walking. Ignoring the conversation between the man and machine which Treize carried on while letting his bride lead him.

"Can you give me time to think?" the young man in the cockpit voiced his thoughts in a rather reluctant way.

"No."

"Then I must decline. . . Sir."

"I'm the one paying you, you know," Treize sullenly stated the obvious, wondering if somehow, the Chinese irritating behavior was contagious. Ever since he had met her, it seemed that her influence had rubbed off on everything associated with him.

"I am willing to forfeit this month's pay then," the boy quietly answered, his voice reflecting his determination to stand by his decision. By then, Une had reached their small group. Without a single word, she stretched out her hands and started to usher the five boys and two girls towards the house, starting with Jess and Quatre.

"My lady!" Treize called out to her, finally realizing what was happening in front of him. "What do you think you are doing?"

Without faltering in her step, Lady Une answered him over her shoulder: "I know you are anxious to catch these boys, but if I recall, this child is free to go. Given that you promised them ten counts to get ahead, I believe they are still have a head start, am I right?"

Her words seemed to have lifted a veil that had descended on the group ever since the servant had started her attack. Blinking as if a spell had been broken, Heero threw his victim aside and took the lead, followed closely by the others. As Quatre dragged Jess through the doorway, she turned to look back at the lady, who had now stopped at the edge where the red carpet met the bottom step of the house, to mouth her thanks.

However, the words never made it past her lips. Instead, for a fleeting moment, she got to see a rather unique expression that said it all for the both of them. As Jess got pulled round the corner where the corridor shut off the last sight she had of Lady Une a rather smug-looking Zech and a terribly sullen Treize, any trace of guilt she might have had, left her. After all, if anything, maybe things will work out for the best and the war would end without much bloodshed.

Standing by her side, Zech continued looking through the doorway where the girl and the five boys had disappeared into. Acting as if all was normal, he spoke to her: "That was pretty nice of you. Usually, you would have tried much harder than my friend to catch them."

Using a bit of her veil to dab at the tears that were leaking out against her will, Une answered: "I have a lot to thank that girl for. I also have to atone for something I did to her in the past. If anything, this day shouldn't have happened at all. . . But it did. I owe that child more than you can imagine and this doesn't even cover half of it."

"I take it you heard about the infamous speech she made at the party?"

"The maids I questioned, as I got into the wedding dress, couldn't stop talking about it the whole time. They were impressed that someone of noble birth would be so aware of the system's hidden faults. In fact, they sort of worshipped her courage."

"And you?"

Without answering further, Lady Une covered her eyes with a hand and willed her tears to stop.


	90. Life after the escape

**Chapter 90**

The events after the great escape from Otheallo Mansion were pretty much a blank to Jess. All she remembered was running out the door and then a limonene pulled up with Sally at the wheel. Quatre had pulled the door opened but it was a sharp shove to her back that sent her sprawling to the floor and into the darkness of her inner conscience.

With a start, Jess opened her eyes into bright overhead lights and again, ten pairs of eyes watching her from the outposts of the bed.

"Hi, welcome back," Quatre greeted her with a warm gentle smile as Trowa nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hn," Heero stated and turned to march out the door.

"You were quite a lot of trouble, woman," Wufei commented and then walked out after Heero."

"Ignore them, they are just feeling relieved and don't know how to express themselves," Duo cheerfully explained away their lackluster response and moved from the bed end to stand at her left side which had been earlier occupied by the two boys that left. "You ok?"

At that, Jess tried shifting herself to an upright sitting position but the moment she strained her back, she felt a bolt of pain lace down her spine to the tip of her toes, squeezing from her an unexpected yelp of pain and leaving her gasping for breath. Quickly acting to her sudden little cry, both boys on either side of her reached out and gently forced her back down onto the bed while casting worried looks at each other.

"What was that?" Jess questioned once she got back her breath.

"Well . . ." Quatre started but look uneasily at his comrades, "I'm not sure how to begin. . ."

"You want the bad news or the good news first?" Duo asked directly, seeing that this was gonna take a long time if the explaining was left to Quatre.

"There is both kinds of news?"

"Well . . . Yeah. I suggest we go with the bad news first."

"Fine, what's the bad news?"

"You hit your head and your spinal nerve was damaged during our escape from the mansion."

"What? All I remember was someone had pushed me into the car!"

"Yes, apparently Wufei used to much pressure to push you in and accidentally hit a spinal nerve." Then seeing her face turn ashen, the brown-haired brunette quickly assured her: "But not to worry, Sally say it's damaged, not severed, so recovery is one hundred percent given our medical technology is quite advanced now."

"Then how did I hit my head? When I fell?" On hearing her question, the sides of Quatre's mouth moved up while Trowa looked up at the ceiling. Meanwhile, Duo broke into a huge grin.

"Actually…" Duo cooed with lowered lids, "when he tried to get you off the floor so the rest of us could have space to put our legs, he forgot how low the car ceiling was and that's how that bump came about."

"Bump? What bump?"

At that, the smiles melted off their faces.

"Give me the mirror."

"You don't want to hear the good news first?"

"I said give me the mirror."

"I think it's better you hear the good news first." Quatre coaxed, backing a step away.

"Give me the mirror . . . NOW!"

Silently, without hesitation, Trowa handed her a 15 inch oval mirror, which Jess concluded it had been taken out in haste for the nail still hung from the string that would allow the mirror to be mounted on the wall. With trepidation, she held the mirror up and stared at her appearance.

Three minutes of uncomfortable silence passed, counted by the ticking of the clock on the wall above the door.

Without lowering the mirror, Jess asked her final question:"What is the good news?"

"Wufei is offering to be your maid until you recover."

"Good."

* * *

"Who's the numbskull who said the word 'maid'?" the Chinese muttered as he scrubbed at an invisible patch of dirt on the floor because her highness said that unless she could see her face in it, the floor was dirty.

"I believe that would be you," a rather sullen American replied from where he was dusting the top of the cupboard just a few meters away.

"I said 'servant', not 'maid'."

"What's the difference?"

"Well, one wears pants, while the other . . ." at that point, Wufei chose to stop and wave his hand round the room to encompass everyone in it to prove his point, " . . . wears skirts."

Apparently all the boys were decked out again in maid attires, a souvenir from their adventure at the Otheallo Mansion. Save of course Quatre and Trowa; whom Jess reasoned that for the blond, he would have taken utmost care she didn't suffer any injury nor would she have been unceremoniously thrown into the car in such a brutish manner, while for the redhead, he had always played the man's role and was more likely to play in supportive roles to the others in assisting her escape.

"Given for a fact that Quatre has always been terribly accurate and concise to the point," Wufei continued, his excellent mind working on deducing who the only possible culprit was, "and that Trowa hardly says anything since Quatre would always mind-read and answer for him, the only possible idiot who could simply mess up such a simple task would be . . . You."

Silence greet his conclusion as the purple-eyed minx froze in mid-action.

"Maxwell . . . Get ready to suffer great pain," a fuming Wufei let his scrub drop from his hands and rose to his feet like an avenging angel, his countenance a sight to behold as his anger radiated off his form in dark waves, forming an almost visible dark crimson-red glow around his figure.

"Now Wufei . . ., I'm pretty sure that even if Quatre said the word servant, that girl would have thought of putting us in dresses," Duo, in his haste to get down from the ladder, ended up tripping and sending the ladder crashing to the ground.

"I'm pretty sure if it came to that, he would have said 'butler' and directed her thoughts to the male occupation. Only someone with twisted, perverse thoughts like you would have immediately thought of making someone wear the clothes of the opposite gender!" Wufei ended his speech with a roar and made a lunge for the American who deftly moved to his left, narrowly missing the clawed fingers at his middle. However, the Chinese landed on his left leg and using his right leg as leverage on the cupboard to change direction, made an almost seamless transition to his next attack.

"Woah . . .," the boy breathed in wide-eyed amazement before he was tackled to the ground.

"But aren't I also wearing the same outfit as you? Even Yuy's not excluded."

"I don't care."

And as Wufei raised his right hand triumphantly to deliver his final and deciding blow, a shoe appeared out of nowhere and hit him right smack on the back of his head.

Heero, who had stopped to watch the fight take place, returned back to his former job with nonchalance and resumed wiping the window panes.

"You two, less talk and more work!" came the familiar commanding voice they had heard over the last two days. Apparently her highness was back from her little physiotherapy session early. "Until this room is all spark and span, not a single beep out of you two."

"My savior!" Duo exclaimed as Wufei reluctantly released him from his hold and got off him. The related pair of shoe joined its cousin and hit him smack in the face.

"No more talk. Get to work," the girl stonily declared before wheeling herself into the next room, followed closely by Sally.

"Yes, your highness," Wufei softly answered as he gloated at the now sulking brunette, watching the shoe slowly slipped off his face.

* * *

"Your temper have gotten worse," Sally commented once the door was shut behind them.

With a shrug of her shoulders, Jess attempted to maneuver her wheelchair alongside the bed with as much accuracy as a fly attempting to fly in a straight line.

"Here, let me," Sally offered, coming forward and helping the chair align alongside to that of the bed. Then, as the girl grabbed the bed sheets to haul herself up, the good doctor held on to both sides of her upper arms and assisted in lightening her body weight.

Then watching the girl settle down with a rather gloomy look on her face, the lady tried to cheer her up again: "Look, it'll be back to normal within a week. You'll be able to walk and run by next week, and things will definitely seem brighter by then."

"Try waking up to half your body paralyzed and your face suddenly spouting such a huge blue-black bump in the centre of your forehead, and tell me how much brighter things are at the moment," the girl retorted, bringing a smile to the lovely lady's lips despite the grim description of her current situation.

"Well, there's the eye-candy next door. . ." she suggested, her eyes sliding towards to closed door on where the apparent eye relief were working on the other side.

"Our kind of eye-candy or the other Doctors' kind of eye-candy?" the girl cynically questioned, and both ladies eyes met before exploding into pearls of laughter.

"I should bring you see Doctor G's secret room. He totally idolize his little boy. Half the room is occupied with Duo's pictures and the other part is almost a shrine to 'Dorine'," Sally offered in the midst of her laughter.

"Goodness, I don't know about that but I have ever spied 'Helen's' pictures on Doctor J's personal computer screen saver. Apparently he likes it as a joke, I think. You got any dibs on Master O?"

On hearing that question being posed, the laughter died and Sally straightened up with a rather thoughtful look on her face. "Frankly no. I haven't found anything like pics on 'Wuling' in his room or computer but I do know that he prints them out and then deletes them. I wonder what he does with them…"

"Hmmm. . ." and both girl sank into silence, each wondering what Master O did with the pictures.

* * *

_On colony 5 that same day . . ._

Slowly, a bald tanned man sank to his knees and laid a bunch of wild flowers at the foot of a lone tombstone, surrounded by many wild flowers and tiny animals that passed by to keep it company.

For a moment, the man remained like that on his knees in silence, staring at the tombstone with quiet contemplativeness as if communicating silently with the person in the netherworld. Then, suddenly coming out of his trance-like state, he turned to retrieve a small black bundle; in which he took out a small metal bowl, a lighter and a stack of paper, which on closer inspection, revealed themselves to be photos of a particular person.

As he started to burn the first photo, the man finally spoke in a rather solomn, yet light hearted tones to the tomb as one would to another person: _"Meiran, it's been a long time since I last visited you. Perhaps even longer for another whom you perhaps prefer visiting you, rather than this old fool?_

_But nonetheless, I bring glad tidings and amusement for you today. Your husband has grown into a fine young man and in this case a fine young woman. Since both of you bore the resemblance of a husband and wife look, I have my fill of what you would have matured into if this world had not called you back so soon. Your grandfather is pleased to have a certain amount of the same pictures retained in his possession as a replacement for being unable to witness your maturity. _

_We have missed you much, but perhaps not as much as that stick-in-the-mud would dare to admit, least of all to himself. Much has happened and history is slowly changing for the better, by the hands of one who once said he rather watch the world pave it's own path to destruction. We have much to thank you for. We also believe that you have returned to the heavens to watch over our colony and sent us an unbelievable child whose words alone are part of the clogs to set the change of time moving in our favor. _

_The Federation has suddenly started a review of it's system inner structure and decision-making processes. Rumor has it that many fiends, once fattening their pockets with the money belonging to the people, are now being weeded out. Slowly, the army structure is turning inwards towards itself, doing the many checks long forgotten in it's struggle to grow bigger. With much hope, the cries of injustice will lessen and the peoples' voices will grow stronger. Until this universe can obtain peace, Nataku, continue to watch over your people and most of all, your husband as he struggles to establish your justice for this world."_

With those words, the last photo burned into black ash, and lay smothering in the bowl, glowing amber red in some places as the eyes of a dragon would while watching its prey with unhurried patience. As the old man struggled to his feet and paused to catch his breath, his eyes lifted up to the heavens with a somewhat distant yet hard look in them, the kind that only years of experience could have brought about.

Then taking his black sunglasses out of his back pocket and putting them on while straightening up, Master O shook his head and sighed as he thought: _'If only that was so. How many will be sacrifice before all this ends? Perhaps it may be a folly to think this might end earlier before there is much bloodshed.'_


	91. Little by Little

**Chapter 91**

One week passed and things returned to normal. Jess could start to walk on her own with a little help from clutches, the boys got the voice synthesizers out from the back of their throats and the doctors went back to what they love best: experimenting and creating new toys.

But things changed a little from what Jess could recall from the anime series. It seemed that when Mr and Mrs Khushrenada decided to celebrate their matrimony, they really did it with aplomb. Whether out of courtesy, or some warped sense of etiquette, they put up an unprotected memo stating their month-long honeymoon and were not to be disturbed throughout their vacation, no doubt certain that someone from the rebels' side would pick it up. And that certain someone was none other than their fun-loving whiz, Duo.

"Trust you to keep up with such mundane events from the other side," Chang Wufei grouched as he crunched down a spoonful of cereal. All five boys were gathered around in the dining room, eating breakfast in a stimulated morning, given that space sunrises and sunsets were irregular and rather disconcerting to the naked eye.

"Well, it's obvious they wanted to share their joy with us in some way," Duo returned as he set a large plateful of flapjacks on the table. Apparently, it was his turn to do breakfast and he showed his American tradition with great gusto by whipping up sunny-side up eggs, bacon, sausages, flapjacks and a huge jug of orange juice.

"I think it is kind of sweet in the way they try to indirectly tell us that we can take it easy for this month," Quatre spoke up as he took his seat at the table after distributing empty glasses to all the occupants. Meanwhile, Heero and Trowa reached out from their seats and took the items they wanted from the layout.

"Hn . . ."

". . ." Trowa had went back to his old quiet self after the removal of the device from his throat, partly from feeling sore, partly from feeling uncommunicative.

"Well, I believe we have much more important stuff to look at . . ." Wufei, unwilling to let this bit of tomfoolery pass by, grumbled under his breath. Then a horrifying thought struck him. "You didn't actually sort of respond, did you?"

"Like?" Duo questioned as he spooned a flapjack, dripping with maple syrup, into his mouth. Somehow the tone and response was a little too light and quick to be accepted. Immediately, the rest of the boys tensed up and all eyes riveted on the brunette.

"Oh, I don't know . . . Maybe sending them a postcard or something? Surprise me. You're good at it."

"Well . . . For old times sake, given that we crossed paths a lot of times, I did leave them something. . ."

"Maxwell . . ." Wufei started to threaten under his breath.

"Relax. It's a virus. Once he opens his computer, he won't be able to use it. That thing practically eats data like food and if it's linked, it's will flow on to other electronic devices," the American, with a carefree attitude, explained off the tension and happily continued to eat the breakfast he had so carefully prepared. Meanwhile, somewhere at the back of his head, his line of thought continued: _'Afterall, no one can give them the perfect wedding present like Duo Maxwell. No Siree. . .'_

* * *

_Somewhere on Colony 2, in a place that strangely resembled the brahmas . . ._

"You're breaking up Pete, I must say this is some potent virus. I guess all plans and work have wait until we're back . . . Hello? Hello?" For a moment, the red-headed young man looked at his phone and then let a smile snake up the corners of his mouth.

"We must get Maxwell a souvenir, as a sort of thank you," Lady Une mused as she took hold of her husband's arm and they continued their stroll, which had been so rudely interrupted by the call from the headquarters.

"At first I thought he wouldn't catch on but now, my view of him has changed. I am believing he can be a rather formidable opponent if he wants to," Treize agreed, putting the phone back into his pocket.

"Yes, well . . . Thank goodness he is born with a rather laid-back attitude. You'll have another Heero to contend with and I don't think you will be able to handle that," Une returned and flicked her long hair over her shoulder, enjoying the breeze that blew in from the ocean.

"That's not true. If he was another Heero, it'll be easier. He'll be more predicable," Treize retorted and then smiled down at his lady love. "Anyway, what do you plan to send him? A bazooka? Or a paint gun? After all, they may be antiques but if I recall correctly, he likes tinkering with such stuff to see how they work."

"How do you know he likes to thinker with such stuff?" Une, amazed at this bit of information, stopped in her tracks to give her husband a measuring look.

Patting her hands, Treize laughed.

* * *

_At St Hilary School . . ._

"I will kill her!" Catherine Meldor screamed as she dashed out of the bathroom half naked, a large towel the only piece of clothing protecting her chastity.

"What have you so reeled up?" her friend, Christy, asked from the bed she was lying on.

"That! That sorry excuse of a heater!" the slender blond, pointing an accusing finger at the object, raged. "I can't input in the correct degree I would like my bath water to be because it's manual, and if I'm not careful, it will gush out hot steaming water like a geyser. Look! I've already burned my fingers twice."

"Well, you need to call room service then."

"I would if I could, but the blasted phone been changed to that!" And with that statement, the accusing finger moved from the toilet to an old coin pay-phone mounted on the wall. "That idiotic thing not only comes in two parts, I don't even know how to work it and it requires coins which are obsolete in this era. How am I to make phone calls when the blasted thing comes from way back in time?"

"So that would explain why the last month you have been personally visiting everyone," Christy mused, blinking her brown-almond shaped eyes at her frustrated friend.

"I do not think this is very amusing," her friend intoned, looming over her with a doomsday-like expression.

"Chill, girl. It's just that you don't see such things nowadays. I think they are what my father would call antiques," Christy quickly sat up on sensing danger and tried to placate the angry blond. "They can fetch you a pretty decent amount of cash.

"I don't care about money. I care about functionality."

"Well, I really don't get why you chose to move rooms then. I mean, your old one was pretty good, wasn't it?"

"Maybe you've forgotten but let me remind you: "This room once belonged to one of my competitors!"

"The most recent?"

"What else can it be?"

"But won't the Chinese siblings' room be more appropriate?"

At the mention of the room belonging to the pair of Chinese girls, Meldor shuddered. She had chosen it at first but the moment she placed a foot beyond an unseen boundary of the first bed, she was hit with an electric shock that knocked her out for a few hours. Whether it was paranormal or man-made, Meldor trusted her instincts and decided she would not risk her life spending another minute in that room.

"No."

"Why?"

"No means no. Don't ask."

"Then how about the Lauther's room?"

"It's not as big as this room. I need the space for my walk-in wardrobe."

"Oh…"

"Lend me your handphone."

"Why?"

"I want to make a call to room service."

"Where's yours?"

"Soaking." That answer got her a raised eyebrow but without further fuss, her friend obediently handed over her handphone.

"What's wrong? Forgotten to use a handphone?" Her friend questioned after she paused in mid-action, staring dumbfound at the device in her hand for a few moments.

"What is the number for room service?"

* * *

Jess cleared her throat to get the attention of the three people in the room. The doctors, busy with whatever experiment they were doing at moment, continued as if they had heard nothing.

"Pardon me, but I really need to ask you guys something."

Again, they continued about their work as if her words were a gentle breeze blowing by.

"You know, I would like to know if you can send me back soon?" she spoke a little louder, thinking that maybe she was too soft. Again, they ignored her.

"Mmmm. . ., I wonder what this button do?" she whispered and reached out to her right side where the controls lay.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Immediately, and in unison, all three gentlemen looked up and instructed.

"Good, now that I have your attention, can you tell me when I will be returning back to my own space and time?" Jess announced, assured now that all three men were giving her his undivided attention. But for added security, she left her hand hovering over the big red button protruding from the controls.

"Well, child," Doctor G started, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably, looking like he'd rather be some place else. "That's just the thing. We don't know if we can send you back."

"What?"

"I mean, sure we saved the space coordinates where you first appeared, but that zone is being heavily guarded by the Federation now. We can't simply just waltz in and try experimenting there . . ."

"So you're telling me to wait until the war is over?" Jess guessed, let her mounting horror show on her face.

"Partly . . ."

"Oh, you're too soft G. Here, let me explain," Doctor J cut in, not liking the awkwardness in the air. "After this war is over, we are not even sure that we can send you back. Of course we will try our best, but even with us combining our three brilliant minds together, we are dealing with an issue that have never been dealt with before, at least not successfully."

"What?"

"Do you not know what you are asking?" J questioned, giving her a superior look. "You are asking us to try to rip the fabric of time and space. We may have broken the speed of sound, but no one in history, not even us, have come close to achieving what you've done. Travel through time, space and possibly alternate realities to get here."

"So what you're saying . . ."

"Yes, it might be impossible," Master O, sensing the girl was on tenterhooks, stepped forward until his body blocked her sight of Doctor J. "You might need divine help now more than ever if you wish to return to your world."

"Oh my. Oooohhhh my. Oooooooh my, oh my, oh my . . ." Jess started to mutter, staring vacantly at the floor, unable to think of anything for her mind had suddenly went blank.

"In fact," Master O continued in a soothing voice and he caught her out-reaching hand and started guiding her towards to the door, "You should go have a rest in your room and concentrate on regaining your full health. You know what we Chinese always say: "*Wo men tao le he, chai guo qao. For now, just let things be."

With those words, Master O left the stunned girl outside in the passageway and closed the door quietly, locking it to make sure she couldn't return back in. But this precaution was for naught, for the girl started crying as she half walked, half hopped with her clutches down the passageway, her voice mournfully echoing through the silent hall, leaving three men looking guiltily at each other.

_*AN: "Wo men tao le he, chai guo qao" - When we get to the river, then we shall cross the bridge. This old Chinese saying means that when we get to it (the situation), then we will think of the solution. Hope you all enjoy the chapter. :]_


	92. Mischief and Misfortune

**Chapter 92**

Sally sat at her work desk with a rather heavy file opened in front of her, but her eyes were not focusing on her present work. Instead, her thoughts were drifting off to a certain someone who suddenly disappeared into the confines of her room, coming out only when it was mealtimes, and refusing to talk to anyone unless absolutely necessary.

"I wonder what happened between her and the doctors?" she questioned herself aloud.

"Who? Jess?" a familiar cheery and inquisitive voice quipped. That got her immediate attention and she swerved around in time to see Duo taking her alcohol bottle out of the supposed to be locked, medicine cabinet.

"Put back that bottle back to where it belongs," she threatened, getting out of her chair and using what precious inches her high-heels gave her, to tower over him menacingly.

"Me and my big mouth," the youth grumbled under his breath as he obeyed. Then turning around, he started to stroll off. However, Sally wise to his previous games, took hold of his collar and started inspecting the cupboard.

"Aww…. Don't you trust me?"

"Your words, yes. Your hands, no. Give me back the my newly purchased hydrocyanic acid and the cotton pads as well," she demanded, as her eyes quickly took stock of what was missing. For a moment, it looked like Duo would disobey but then, with a grunt, he turned out his pockets and dropped the mentioned items plus a whole lot that she didn't ask for, into her outstretched hand.

Looking at the nail-clipper, a glass tube, a short rubber tube with a cork at the end, and a lump of coal, Sally could only conclude he was up to one of his insane experiments. With resignation, she let go of his collar and started putting back all the items where they had been picked from.

"Aren't you gonna ask me what I want with them?" Duo, pockets now emptied of his booty, started talking as he followed her around like a puppy. If there was one thing consistent about the brunette, it was either he was full of words, or he was full of stolen things, which didn't tide well for someone with a sudden onset of a splitting headache.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Not interested."

"I'm sure you would be for this."

"Duo, whatever you are planning, I learnt a long time ago never to meddle in other people's affairs, especially yours. Look at Trowa, he was minding his own business and what happened? His ceiling is now two storey high and he had to nail the above door shut with the sign: "DO NOT ENTER" so no unsuspecting person will get injured."

"I promise that you won't be disappointed. This is for Jess."

"With hydrocyanic acid? Are you planning to murder her?"

"I just want to lure her out. The almond smell should be quite tempting."

"Then just roast some almonds outside her door!"

"No way. The smoke detector would pick it up. Hee-chan would have my head if he gets drenched a second time."

For a moment, Sally could only stare dumbfounded at the boy. Then she asked the question that had been weighing on her mind the whole of last week: "By any chance, were you the culprit that connected part of the kitchen smoke-inhaler to the air ducts last week?"

"Oh, so the smoke landed up here?" The boy innocently asked, giving her the purple wide-eyed, doe look before running for the door.

"Get back here, Maxwell!" Sally screamed as she chased after the grinning idiot.

* * *

At a later time, the boys found themselves gathered in front of a familiar door.

"Why and what are we doing here?" Wufei demanded, crossing his arms and striking a no nonsense pose.

"Hn." Heero seconded the question and mimicked the pose likewise. Only Quatre looked slightly puzzled and amused, while Trowa remain expressionless.

"Well, you know how music soothe the angry beast. . ."

"She ain't angry, she's grieving," Wufei pointed out cuttingly.

"Music also help heal the wounded heart," Duo quickly rebutted.

"She's not suffering from heartbreak."

"Heartbreak can come in a variety of forms, not just from relationships."

"You just want us to play the instruments behind you," The Chinese refuted, refusing to back down, motioning with his head at the bunch of instruments piled up against the door behind the brown-haired guy.

"Yep," the American agreed much to the shock of the Chinese teenager, who could only look at him, taken aback by how easily he won the argument. "Now pick what you would like to play."

"I don't see any piano or keyboard around," Quatre nervously pointed out, his eyes scanning the pile frantically.

"Yep, there isn't. That's why I told you guys to pick an instrument you would like to play."

At that, Heero let his arms drop to his side and turned to go, obviously wanting no part in this. Watching him go from the corner of his eyes, Duo continued on slyily: "Of course if you can be as magnanimous as Hee-chan, after what she did like blowing his laptop screen out, made him wear a maid dress and, not to mention, knocked him out that once time he played a prank..."

Immediately, Heero reversed and picked out a drum, his actions conveying much evil glee despite his face remaining stoic.

"Ok, who would like the long horn?" Duo resumed his salesman pitch, rubbing his hands with much mischievous anticipation.

* * *

In ten minutes, it was decided that Quatre would play the triangle, Trowa - the long horn, Wufei - the trampoline and Duo - the his hand over his trumpet with satisfaction, Duo surveyed his impromptu band. They may not know much about music but he was sure nothing would hinder his plan from working.

"Ok gang! A one . . ."

At that moment, Quatre looked at his watch and started to speak: "Hey! Isn't . . .""

. . . A two . . ."

". . . this time . . ."

". . . A three! Hit it!"

* * *

"Hand me the fried meat," Jess told her little brother sitting beside her. Obediently, Jim reached out and picked the dish off the table for her.

No sooner did her fingers brush the plate, the most God-awful noise filled the room and Jess found herself opening another pair of eyes. Like a nightmare come true, the peaceful and enjoyable scene melted into reality.

Uttering a cry that sounded nothing humanity had ever done before, she threw back the covers and rushed for the door. So intent was she to discover who was on the other side of her door, she missed a cloud of blue dust that swirled in the wind made by her rush.

* * *

One minute, everyone except Quatre was giving their all to play the instruments. The next minute, Heero and Wufei abandoned their posts and took off at a run while the others strained their ears to hear if the locks were being opened.

They weren't disappointed. With seconds, the deadbolts were thrown back and the door opened to reveal one very unhappy Jess.

"Ok, good to see you're still alive," Duo commented and took off at a run, Jess hot on his heels with an expression that Armageddon was now here for at least a certain prankster.

Blinking his eyes, Quatre tried to take in the scene and understand what just happened. Meanwhile, Trowa reached to his horn and extracted a screwdriver and a hammer.

"Wha . . ." Quatre started as Trowa handed him the hammer. He then understood what was expected of him when Trowa disappeared behind the door and started unscrewing the deadbolts from their place.

* * *

"When I get my hands on Duo, he's gonna wish he could reverse time, Jess muttered darkly as she entered her room in an exhausted state. Given the past week she had just fully recovered from her paralysis and that the boy had been always been in tip-top shape, she lost him after an hour of chasing and found herself in unknown territory to boot. It took her another hour to get to familiar grounds.

Closing her door, her hand went up to slid the deadbolt in place, only to find it missing. A quick look confirmed there were more than one deadbolt missing on the door.

"Right."

* * *

Sally was closing up for the night when she got one of the biggest shock in her life. She had just slid the inner door in place and was closing the outer door when the corner of her eye registered a figure in white materializing somewhere to the right behind her.

"Good grief!" she exclaimed as she placed a shaking hand over her heart. She had moved swiftly to place her back against the door in an effort to minimize her vulnerability. "I thought Mei Ran came to visit or something."

"Well, I would like to haunt somebody," the girl answered, her eye burning with a fire Sally had once seen before: the fire of determination.

"By any chance," she ventured a guess, "is it a long-haired, violet-eyed teenager I happen to know?"

"Yep, that's the one."

"Wonderful! How can I be of help?"


	93. Small events

**Chapter 93**

It was two weeks after the instruments episode before any of the boys felt the sands of time changing. For one part, the news channel that was once so strictly screened by The Federation, was becoming more brazenly liberal. Topics that were once whispered in dark corners of pubs and within the confines of homes, were slowly brought forward to be discussed in the light of day, at eateries and workplaces.

Even Relena Darlian had appeared on television for an interview once, advocating for peace and putting forth a suggestion for a channel for the people to establish dialogue and feedback with the government. It was an unforgettable sight seeing Heero choke on his coffee when she made her appearance in the morning news on their 50 inch television. Under her leadership, a new group of pacifists were flourishing, and the people themselves were sensing an invitation from the ruling government to raise their voices to air their views on what they felt was needed to be changed.

It also seemed that Treize and Une had visited many places secretly whilst on their honeymoon, and found evidence of abuse and misdemeanor by the army. Bit by bit, they worked through their connections and were starting to implement military reforms that made life a bit more comfortable, if not easier for everyone.

Throwing out his hands, Duo let out a sigh of frustration. He had been laboring all morning, cracking through a protected file with the obvious title: "Top Secret, For Dorine Raceland" in Treize's personal computer and found only a planet L3 address within it. Given that it was a post office address after searching up on it, the brunette didn't know what to make of it.

Whirling his computer chair around, he turned to face the back of his comrade, equally immersed with his own cracking in another section of The Federation's computer while trying to remain undetected.

"I think Treize has gone soft now that he's married."

"Hn," his co-pilot returned, not bothering to give him a scant attention.

"He's specifically set aside a folder dedicated to me." That got the Japanese's attention and he shot him a brief look over his shoulder. However, given that hacking was a tenacious task that could not be stopped even for a second, his fingers continued to type the codes.

"You wondering what it is?"

"Hn."

"Same here."

"Duo?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up." That was given as an order and not a request. Shrugging his shoulders, the American turned back to his screen to ponder. It was scarcely five minutes before the Japanese youth was at his side to take a look at the address. Only then did Duo understood why his partner gave such an order. Hacking in might take another half an hour to enter, but to give up the goose chase, Heero had only to type the codes to sweep his tracks clean and that would take only a mere fraction of the time compared to hacking in.

Staring hard at the screen, the Japanese boy frowned as he looked at the address. With a few clicks, he brought up a couple of maps that showed the site of the address and its surroundings.

"Looks like a good neighborhood," Duo half muttered, half mused, more so to himself than to his friend.

Nodding his head, Heero stood back and examined his findings. Then giving his friend a serious look, he spoke: "Trowa."

With a whoop, the brown-haired boy leapt out of his chair with arms wide open, gushing out at the same time: "He-chan, you're a genius! Trowa would know this place since it's his planet and . . ." the rest of the sentence trailed off because the brunette found himself held at gun point.

"Alright, alright, I won't embrace you," he consented, lowering his arms as Heero's cobalt blue eyes pined him to where he stood. "I'll just go find Trowa now."

Nodding his approval, the Japanese lowered his gun. Giving his chair a shove to put it back in its place, Duo walked out the door with his hands in his pockets, whistling a merry tune.

* * *

Trowa took one look at the eagerness displayed on the American's face and tried to close his room door.

"Is this how you treat a friend?" the brown-haired minx cried out and stuck a foot in the doorway to prevent the redhead from successfully closing and locking him out. At that, the silent teenager give his friend a rather expressive doubtful gaze, considering that the rest of his features hardly moved on his face, and kicked his foot out of the way. Closing and locking it much to the consternation of the American.

"I'll remember this!" he threatened on the other side of the door and as expected, he received no response from the redhead, obviously more afraid of what the future would hold if he let the American in.

Glancing towards the ceiling in frustration, a thought struck him and a slow mischievous smile crept up the corners of his mouth.

"Now, where can I look at those blueprints . . ." he mused as he started walking down the passageway, heading towards the lift.

* * *

Sally stepped back and admired their handiwork. It had been difficult getting a lot of cloth and a boxful of spray cans on board, but all the hard work had paid off and their masterpiece stood in all its majestic splendor, making them feel extremely satisfied, save for the shell-shocked Doctor G who was bound in ropes and tied to a chair behind them.

"Well, this would do nicely given he played his pranks once too often," Sally remarked, wiping away the fine beads of sweat from her brow.

Nodding her head in agreement, the girl set down her blue spray can and picked up a hot pink one. "Just needs this final touching up and I'll say victory is as good as ours."

"My boy will never survive this . . . atrocity. He'll be the laughing stock if he ever went out in that." His comment made Jess pause as she studied their art.

"I'm not sure he'll feel embarrass by this . . ." she conveyed her uncertainty to the tall woman who flicked a ponytail behind her shoulders. "Given he has already cross-dressed, done crazy wild things like makeup and nabbing a beau, maybe he might enjoy the new décor."

Shrugging her shoulders, Sally snatched up a black spray can and answered: "Who cares. I'll be laughing my head off when it happens, whether he enjoys it or not. After this, help me search for the voice controls within that machine."

* * *

Trowa had just settled down on his bed with a nice hot piping coca drink and a letter from his sister Catherine, when he heard a small "Beboop" sound. The next instant, he was wrestling to break out of an intruder's dead weight that literally fell from above.

"Ouch, ouch, OUCH! It's me! Will you stop trying to . . . WATCH WHERE YOU'RE KNEEING!" the last sentence was delivered in a voice that made the German stop to take a good look at the intruder. Duo's annoyed violet eyes matched his green-eyed gaze.

Not liking that his privacy was invaded and that his decision was being totally ignored, Trowa brought his head up and head-butted the American. Gaining a small amount of satisfaction, and a huge splitting headache which pretty much almost cancelled out his delight in hearing his co-pilot groan in pain. Almost but not quite.

Rubbing the forefront of their foreheads, both boys struggled to sit up on the bed, each looking rather disgruntled at the other. At least one had the expression. Trowa expression remained rather blank; only the hand rubbing his forehead implied otherwise.

"Gees man, you're beginning to act like Wufei. Are you still sour over the wedding incident?" On hearing the question, Trowa immediately grabbed his pillow and threw it into the brunette's face. Quick as a monkey, the thief snatched it from mid-air and hugged it to himself, grinning broadly from ear to ear, for this action had just proven the German had already forgiven him for that incident.

"I need to visit this area on L3," he started, placing his head on top of the pillow, his purple eyes twinkling merrily with delight as he narrated the address to the boy. Other than an uplift of one eyebrow, the boy looked rather calm. It was the only indication that he was surprised that Duo should suddenly take an interest in an area so common and far from the war zones. "What do you know about it?" the young man concluded, giving him a lopsided inquisitive look.

". . . Good place . . ."

It took another moment for it to sink into Duo's head that was all he was gonna get out of the tall youth.

"You need to elaborate more. You know . . . Like what transport, any great spots for sight-seeing, or the guard posts to watch out for?" Duo prompted, meeting his eyes stare-for-stare.

Shrugging his shoulders, the youth got off the bed. Apparently, the area wasn't of much interest to him.

"Oh come on! It's your planet. At least help me to get there without much effort…" Duo winced, hopping off the bed to trail after the lanky teenager. He almost bumped into the suddenly still back of the boy.

"Hey! What gives?" he demanded and spied the now open letter that the German clutched in his hand, gripping it hard as he read, as if the letter would fly away. "What did your sister say?" he prodded when his friend continued to remain silent for five more minutes.

At that, the German let loose a flood of words that none of the boys had ever experienced: "You want passage to L3? Fine. You just have to earn it. I require you to bring along Shinigami. My family seems to be in pickle and you're going help me out if you want my help to reach that sector. And I won't take no for an answer."

Cowed by the sudden aggressiveness, Duo could only obediently nod his head. Satisfied that he got what he wanted, Trowa shoved him out the door with the last command: "Tomorrow, L3 - 4pm, we'll fly." And the door closed in Duo's face before he could further pose any questions.


End file.
